User:TheDireMaster/List of fictional businesses in Coronation Street

The following is a list of fictional businesses in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.

The Rovers Return Inn
The Rovers Return occupies the final building on the corner of the street, directly adjacent to Rosamund Street. Since the first ever episode, it has been the principal setting in the show, with many of the show's most memorable moments occurring there. The pub itself was originally owned by fictional brewery Newton and Ridley, before becoming a free house in 1996. The Rovers has seen many employees since it was first seen, with the current employees being:

Audrey's Salon
Audrey's Hair & Beauty Salon is the second centre of employment for residents of the street. Since its opening in the late 1990s, it has been managed by Audrey Roberts and run by various members of the Platt family. It has been noted that nearly every resident who currently lives on the street has appeared in the Salon at least once. The current staff of the salon comprises:

Webster's Auto Centres
Webster's Autos is a management run business located between Underworld and The Kabin. The garage features regularly in the show with scenes of the frontdoors of Underworld. One of the most memorable storylines involving The Garage occurred when Danny Baldwin failed to ask for a full service on a dodgy motor, causing Janice and Leanne Battersby to crash into Gail Platt's front room. The garage is currently owned and run by Kevin Webster and Tyrone Dobbs.

Underworld
Underworld, a factory producing women's undergarments, is the main centre of employment on the street. Since its first appearance in 1976 as Baldwin's Casuals, Underworld has been at the centre of many of the soap's most action-packed storylines, and is arguably the second most famous business in the history of the soap. The original owner of the factory, Mike Baldwin, managed the business for nearly 30 years, until his death in April 2006. His son Danny briefly became manager until a deal with new owner Paul Connor was completed in Autumn 2007. Paul's brother Liam bought the remaining 40% of the business which was at that time owned by Adam Barlow. The business fell into the hands of current owner Carla Connor (Paul's wife) when he died in an accident in 2007, and Liam was killed in a hit-and-run in 2009. In 2010, Nick Tilsley bought half of the business that was owned by Carla's ex-husband, Tony Gordon who later returned and burnt the company down in a dramatic showdown with Carla. Nick opened his own temporary company "Nicks Knicks" in the unfinished Joinery Bar, using Underworld's staff, Carla blackmailed Nick and they both returned to the newly refurbished Underworld in mid 2010. Nick later sold his share to Carla as he had plans to open up the Joinery Bar as he was unhappy working with Carla.

There are a number of female extras who are always seen working in Underworld, mainly on the machines but sometimes in the background loading stock. They were recently seen in the Rovers celebrating Hayley and Roy's wedding announcement and were also seen attending their wedding.

The Kabin
The Kabin is the main general store and post office for Weatherfield. Upon its opening in the mid-70's until late 2009, the Kabin was run by Rita Sullivan, with the assistance of Norris Cole. It was originally known as Biddulphs and later The Korner Kabin when it was located at 16 Rosamund Street. In 1990 Rita moved into number 10 Coronation Street. In 2000 Rita opened The Kabin with a sub-post office after undergoing training. However, when Norris' brother, Ramsay Clegg, died of natural causes in late 2009, Rita made the decision to sell the Kabin to Norris, who had inherited over £170,000 from Ramsay. Since returning from a cruise around the world, Rita has been re-employed by Norris and is currently second in command. The Kabin's third employee, Tina McIntyre, has worked in the shop since 2008, however, she took a long break from work after her father, Joe, died. Due to Norris' allegation that Tina stole his and Rita's card details, Tina walks out on Norris. On the 6th December 2010, the Kabin was partially destroyed when a tram hurtled off the tram line after a huge explosion at The Joinery damages the line. Rita was trapped in The Kabin at the time after returning home from a cancelled night out, remaining in a near unconscious state until she was found later that night. The back of the building was damaged the most as the back end of the tram smashed into the corner.

D&S Alahan's Corner Shop
The D&S Alahan's Corner Shop is a general grocery store and off-licence, is the second business owned by Dev Alahan that currently resides in Weatherfield. It is one of a chain of stores that Alahan has managed with several of his previous partners. Dev's partner, Sunita Alahan, purchased half of the business when Dev fell short of money in 2006. On 6 December 2010, The Joinery explodes, destroying the track above it. A few moments later, a tram comes down the track, derails, and crashes into Coronation Street, straight into Alahan's Corner Shop reducing it to rubble, and employee Molly Dobbs was in the corner shop and later died.

For Your Fries Only
For Your Fries Only is the only other known business to be trading in the immediate vicinity of the street. It is currently owned by Mr Wong, a gentleman of Chinese orientation. The business has not been seen in the programme since late 2006, when a storyline involving Cilla Battersby-Brown and Yana Lumb occurred. The business is currently located next to The Medical Centre. The business' current employees are:

Rosamund Street Medical Centre
The Medical Centre is located at the end of Rosamund Street, directly adjacent to the main street. The centre is not regularly featured in the show. In 2009, drug addict Joe McIntyre broke into the centre in search of painkillers for his bad back. He was later arrested for breaking and entering and charged with criminal damage. It is also noted that the centre also contains the street's only pharmacy, a location which has never been seen in the programme. In 2010, The medical centre started to feature more as both Fiz & Natasha were pregnant, though Natasha later had an abortion because Nick left her, he later saw sense and came round to idea of a family so she lied to him that she was still pregnant. Receptionist Gail, Nick's mother, grew suspicious and against policy checked Natasha's medical records and told Nick the truth about the abortion. Natasha told head doctor, and Gails boss, Matt Carter about the breach of trust leading to Gails dismissal. When Gail went back to the medical centre to ask for her job back she discovered that enemy Deirdre Barlow was covering and that Natasha had made a formal complaint. The business' current employees are:

Barlow's Bookies
Barlow's Bookies is the central bookmakers of Weatherfield, located at the start of Rosamund Street. It is currently owned by Peter Barlow, and run by himself and his current partner, Leanne Battersby. The bookies' only previous owner, Dan Mason, was forced to sell-up after he fell on hard times in 2008. However, upon receiving a large amount of money left by the mother of his son, Simon, Peter bought the bookies from him and moved into the flat upstairs. The bookies was refurbished in early 2009 when Peter set fire to the flat above, falling asleep with a cigarette in his hand. Both he and Simon were rescued by Luke Strong and Tony Gordon. The most memorable storyline involving the bookies occurred in mid-2010 when Lewis Archer conned Peter out of £4,000 by placing false betting slips into the till while Deirdre wasn't looking. The bookies' current employees are:

The Hanbury
The Hanbury is a public house on Rosamund Street, the pub is currently not featured in the show but has been mentioned and featured in past scenes.

Streetcars
Street Cars is the local area Taxi service, co-owned by Steve McDonald and Lloyd Mullaney. Is it currently located in the last property on the corner of Victoria Street. The business has seen many owners and employees over the years, the most notable being Don, who helped Sally Webster give birth in the back of his cab. Eileen Grimshaw bought part of the business in 2010. Eileen Grimshaw worked at streetcars for ten years before leaving after Lloyd wouldn't give her more shifts instead giving them to Cheryl Gray. The current employees are;

Prima Doner
Prima Doner is a pizza and kebab takeaway house located on the corner of Victoria Street,next door to Roy's Rolls. Prior to this, It was a kebab shop going under the name of Jerry's Takeaway. The shop was first opened in 2007 By Jerry Morton. Prima Doner is one the least seen business on coronation street due to the fact no current residents work there. A notable storyline for the shop happened in 2009 when ex-employee Teresa Bryant was involved in selling curry in the shop with Dev's uncle Umed Alahan. Despite making a roaring trade for the business Dev wasn't impressed that Teresa was working there. Another big storyline for Prima Doner was when takeaway manager Daryl Morton got involved in Pam Hobsworth's scheme to use the fat from the shop to make a biofuel; this backfired when a small explosion happened hospitalising Pam.

Previous employees include Amber Kalirai, Dev's Daughter; Minnie Chandra, Amber's Best Friend; Teresa Bryant, Jerry Morton's ex-wife; Darryl Morton, who was manager of the business until late 2009; and Tina McIntyre. Cheryl Gray worked here briefly in 2010 before leaving to work in The Joinery Bar. One extra is frequently seen working in Prima Doner and was most recently seen at Leanne Battersby's Hen night, the night the tram crashed into coronation street.

Roy's Rolls
Roy's Rolls is the main cafe in Weatherfield, located between Prima Doner and Elliot & Son Butchers on Victoria Street. The business is owned and run by Roy Cropper and his wife, Hayley. In 2009, Pam Hobsworth set up a rival business, allowing customers to buy products on the go. Kevin Webster, Tyrone Dobbs, Bill Webster, Jason Grimshaw and The Underworld Employees were just a number of customers who took to the rival business. Anna Windass is currently the only employee at Roy's Rolls, with other residents such as Ken Barlow, John Stape and Becky McDonald working there in the past. As part of Becky McDonald's plan for sister Kylie to get her son, Max, back she decides that her sister needs a home and a job. This leads to her moving into the Rovers and asking Roy if Kylie can have a job which Roy agrees to however on Kylie's first day she annoys Nick Tilsley and Natasha Blakeman with her attitude and upsets Norris Cole after taking away his cup when he was not finished and Roy had to ask her to smile. The business' current employees are:

Elliott & Son Butchers
Elliot & Son Butchers is a family run business located next door to Roy's Rolls in Victoria Street. The business was originally owned by father & son Fred Elliott and Ashley Peacock, but is now owned by Ashley Peacock after Fred died in 2006. Ashley previously employed an assistant named Boris, who was often referred to but rarely seen. Boris was laid off when the business was experiencing financial difficulties. The current assistant is Graeme Proctor. In 2010, after wrongly been accused of hitting Aadi Alahan, Claire decided that she, Ashley together with their sons Josh and Freddie would move away from Weatherfield because it had too many bad memories (Claire had sufferd a nervous breakdown after giving birth to Freddie). Ashley was initially against the idea but eventually agreed and put the business up for sale. Following Ashley's death on 6th December after being crushed when an explosion at The Joinery Bar caused the viaduct to collapse, Claire is now owner of the business and its future is uncertain. Current Staff include:


 * The Butchers has since not re-opened due to Claire and Ashley's plans to move to France followed by Ashley's death.

Owen Armstrong Construction
Owen Armstrong Construction is part of a chain of construction businesses currently owned by Owen Armstrong. It took over the building yard on Victoria Street originally owned by Charlie Stubbs, it was bought by Bill Webster and his partner Pam Hobsworth after his death in 2006. Bill, when he owned the yard, employed Jason Grimshaw as his partner, before selling to Owen in mid-2010. Since, Bill has made the decision to retire, allowing Owen to employ Jason as his own. Owen Armstrong Construction was an established company and were contracted by Carla Connor on the Underworld Job (the re-construction following the major fire killing Tony Gordon). For the underworld job Chris Gray, was employed for the Job,and has since been employed by Owen. The business' current employees are:

The Joinery
The Joinery was the former 'Turner's Joiners' workshop that only ever featured as an external façade in the program under the viaduct arch at the end of Coronation Street. It is now the wine bar on Viaduct Street owned by George Wilson and run by Nick Tilsley. It was initially planned to be run by Peter Barlow & Leanne Battersby, but it never officially opened due to the 'preview night' being a total disaster, with Peter's alcohol problem ruining the party. The bar opening was cancelled and the construction work abandoned. However, the building was leased out by Nick for his new business 'Nick's Knicks' following the fire at Underworld. He poached the staff and contracts from Underworld, but his plans where ruined when Carla Connor returned and reopened Underworld with the staff returning to their original jobs. The joinery then lay empty, until Nick fell out with business partner Carla and decided to use his lease on the joinery to re-open it as a bar. The bar opened in late 2010, and it was a part of the 50th anniversary storyline of the tram crash. As of 6 October, Nick Tilsley is seen to be renting the bar hoping to purchase it, with Leanne Battersby managing the project and bar once it opens. At the end of the episode airing on 6 December 2010, The Joinery Bar explodes, most likely due to a gas explosion. It was hinted before the explosion by Ciaran McCarthy (the chef) that the food for Peter Barlow's stag night could not be cooked as the ovens would not heat up for the food to cook. This explosion was so powerful that it caused the front of the building to erupt in a huge fireball and even caused the tramline above to deform which led to a tram hurtling down onto the street smashing into the corner shop and The Kabin. Later, the roof caved in and crushed Ashley Peacock to death.

Note that the Joinery has been closed since the accident and it is uncertain of the future of the site.

The Laughing Donkey
"The Laughing Donkey" can be found on Omdurman Street, overlooking North Cross Park. It was the stronghold of Nellie Harvey (Mollie Sugden), acquaintance and nemesis of Rovers Return landlady, Annie Walker.

Freshco
Freshco is the main supermarket in Weatherfield and is used by the local residents of Coronation Street. Formerly known as Bettabuys and Firman's Freezers it is unclear whether this was a take over or just a rebrand. Fred Elliot also had a butcher counter in the store along side his shop on Victoria Street, which was gradually phased out the program. The most famous scenes in the supermarket were when a seige took place and the staff and some customers where held hostage by gun men.

Newton and Ridley
The Newton and Ridley Brewery was established in Weatherfield in 1781. During the 19th century, Newton and Ridley expanded its operations, moving towards the acquisition and construction of new public houses. In 1902 Newton & Ridley acquired the freehold to the newly built public house on Coronation Street which was right next to their brewery in the large brick factory behind Coronation Street. The pub was named "The Rovers Return Inn" and is the principal meeting place in Coronation Street. Although the house is no longer owned by Newton and Ridley, the brewery's products are still available. There is a pub crawl called the Weatherfield 7.

The Flying Horse
In 1850 Newton and Ridley opened "The Flying Dutchman" at the corner of Jubilee Terrace. The name was changed in 1905 to "The Flying Horse" for patriotic reasons. Until around 1985, The Flying Horse was the biggest rival pub to the "Rovers Return", with the regulars from both houses clashing in many friendly contests such as a tug-of-war, mixed football and pub Olympics.

The pub was re-introduced in 2009, however it is now filled with dodgy characters. In 2011 Ciaran McCarthy went for a job interview for a chef at the pub, but was refused the job when he made a scene in the pub when he saw his recovering alcoholic and good friend Peter Barlow drinking alcohol with Nick Tilsley.

The Queens
"The Queens" was built in 1931 and its situated towards the 'trendy' Weatherfield Quays, south of Weatherfield. The pub was introduced to Coronation Street in 1993, seeing current Rovers landlady Liz McDonald installed as landlady by Newton and Ridley.

The Weatherfield Arms
Another rival to the Rovers Return, "The Weatherfield Arms", appeared around 2003. The location of the pub is unknown. Liz McDonald was the manager for a while here after she lost her job at the Rovers Return. Other Coronation Street residents such as Bev Unwin and Cilla Battersby-Brown have also worked here.

Friends of Weatherfield Hospital Charity Shop (1990-1991)
The Charity Shop operated by the 'Friends of Weatherfield Hospital' at 2 Coronation Street, Weatherfield. It was the first business to use the shop unit since it was built in 1989 - 1990. Following construction, the shop was empty for months, until it was let to the Friends of Weatherfield Hospital, which used the premises from February 1990 to December 1991.

Emily Bishop, has a long association with the charity and volunteered at the shop becoming the manager. The shop was officially opened by Councillor Deirdre Barlow on 27th February 1990, with some of Emily's friends donating old clothes to stock up. The shop attracted mostly elderly custom, including Emily's lodger Percy Sugden who often dropped by to keep an eye on her. On 8th April, Joss Shackleton collapsed in the store after being pushed by Percy, resulting in Joss being rushed to hospital and needing a blood transfusion.

Emily was informed two days before Christmas 1991, that the lease on the shop wasn't going to be renewed. Despite this she kept the flame alive by storing stock from the shop at her house (No.3 Coronation Street). After closure, the unit remained empty until Denise Osbourne bought it and opened a Hair Salon in December 1992.

The Salon (1991-1996)
The Salon was owned and managed by Denise Osbourne who employed young Fiona Middleton as a stylist in 1993.

Fiona Middleton's (1996-1998)
After Denise left Weatherfield Fiona re-named and took over the running of the salon with her friend Maxine Heavey working as stylist. Maxine would remain working here after Fiona left the street and worked under Audrey Roberts when the salon reopened as Audreys. In 2003 Maxine by now married to Ashley Peacock and mother to baby Joshua was murdered by Richard Hillman. A bench was erected in Maxines memory and currently stands outside the salon.

Corner Shop (1960-1985)
The original occupant and owner of the corner shop was Florrie Lindley who was seen taking over the running of the buisness from Elsie Lappin. Florrie remained in the street until her departure in 1965.Retired army officer Lional Petty and daughter Sandra then ran the business until David Barlow and wife Irma who had previously worked as a shop assistant took over its running.In 1968 they left for Australia and Maggie Clegg took over with help from her sister Betty Turpin[now Williams].In 1974 the Hopkins family arrived to take over the running before Renee Bradshaw arrived in 1976.Renee married Alf Roberts who continued running the corner shop after his wife's death in a car accident in 1980.

MVB Motors (1990-1996)
Michael Vernon Baldwin (MBV) Motors, was run and owned by Mike Baldwin. He bought the bought the garage at 16 Coronation Street after he received a hefty divorce settlement from wife Jackie Ingram and a loan from Emily Bishop, calling it MVB Motors. He employed Kevin Webster and Jim McDonald, who also doubled as a chauffeur in Mike's Jaguar.

MVB Print (1990)
MBV Print was a company set up by Mike Baldwin when he leased the empty unit at No14 Coronation Street from Maurice Jones. He set up a T-shirt operation, MVB Print, employing Jim's son Steve McDonald. Steve undercut Mike, who later found out and sacked Steve. But when Steve pointed out he had all the contacts Mike recognised a fellow rogue and agreed to rent the unit to Steve who was then sent a £1,200 rates bill. Steve struggled and turned to gambling, then secured a big contract, and needed a £20,000 investment for machinery. Mike stepped in to form a partnership, but used all Steve's contacts and dumped him, making a quick buck and leaving Steve to struggle by himself.

Sunliners Travel Agency (????-????)
Sunliners Travel Agency was situated next to the Bookmakers on Victoria Street, the shop and building have since disappeared from the street. In 1996, Alec Gilroy returned to Weatherfield to manage the travel agency, although he was made redundant the following year. Joyce Smedley also worked as a cleaner for the travel agents until 1996. Deirdre Barlow was manageress of Sunliners when Alec Gilroy took early retirement, shortly before she met Jon Lindsey who posed as a pilot and blamed Deirdre for the fraud he carried out, to which she went to prison for.

Turf Accountant (1994-2008)
Turf Accountant was the original name of the bookmakers on Victoria Street. The bookies was where many scenes of Jack Duckworth and Les Battersby would gamble on the horses. The Bookies was bought by Peter Barlow who has since run the bookies, later renaming the shop "Barlow's Bookies" bringing an end to the Turf Accountant name. The name Turf Accountant was seen on the shop window in January 2011 scenes involving Nick Tilsley and Leanne Barlow.

D&S Hardware (2000)
Sally Webster and Danny Hargreaves gave up their market stall and opened up a hardware shop in 2000. Sally confesses to Danny that she and Kevin slept together, and Danny leaves the Street. Jason Grimshaw was given a job in the shop following Danny's departure, until the shop was ruined during a fire and then lay empty as Sally could not afford to re-open the shop.

Diggory Compton's Bakery (2005-2006)
Diggory Compton bought the empty hardware shop that had been derelict for some years and opened up a Bakery. He ran the bakery with his daughter Molly Compton as the counter assistant. The business closed in 2006 due to poor trade.

Jerry's Takeaway (2007-2008)
Jerry's Takeaway was the kebab shop owned by Jerry Morton in Unit 18 formally home to Diggory Crompton's Bakery and D&S Hardware. Its employees were the Morton Family; Dad Jerry, Son Darryl Morton and Daughter Mel Morton & Jodie Morton. It was opened in 2007 and its most famous storylines were; when David Platt threw a scaffold pole through the window of the shop and when Cilla Battersby-Brown sent an exterminator round claiming it was infested with rats, though this was not true.

Stubb's Buliders Yard (2003-2007)
The builders yard was purchased in 2003 and run by Charlie Stubbs until he was murdered by Tracey Barlow. Charlie had been one of the streets most unpopular residents due to his bullying nature. He employed a young Jason Grimshaw as his apprentice.

Webster's Buliders (2007-2010)
Webster's Buliders was the Buliders Yard located at Victoria street owned by Bill Webster after the death of previous owner Charlie Stubbs. Bill employed Jason Grimshaw to work as a builder with him, storylines featuring the Yard include; the time when David Platt threw bricks from the top of the yard after finding out that employee of Webster's Buliders, Jason started dating hi ex-girlfriend Tina McIntyre.

Nicks Knicks (2010)
Nicks Knicks was a business opened by Nick Tilsley during 2010 in the disused wine bar The Joinery. It was only open for a period of 2 months after Underworld was burnt down due Tony Gordon's Siege. It caused friction between Nick and Carla, though they later buried the hatchet and re-opened Underworld.

Bettabuys
Bettabuys was the name of the supermarket (introduced in 1989) which employed Reg Holdsworth and Curly Watts.

The shop was in an undisclosed location, but it was close to Coronation Street.

The "Bettabuy" name came allegedly from the fact that a real branch of the North of England supermarket chain Morrisons was used for filming the supermarket scenes, and "Bettabuy" was the name of Morrison's discount brand at the time. Past employees of the supermarkets include Reg Holdsworth, Curly Watts, Andy McDonald, Anne Malone, Alma Baldwin, Izzy Armstrong, Hayley Patterson.

Other Locations

 * Freshco also contained a butcher's counter run by Fred Elliott, (1995–2006) it shut after Fred died and Ashley kept the new shop in Victoria Street.
 * Although not seen on screen anymore, Freshco is referred to by residents of Weatherfield and Freshco shopping bags can be often seen (these are more substantial than usual supermarket bags and more like clothes shop bags).