The owners of one of Northumberland’s best-known hotels are taking it onto the road after investing £170,000 in three new street food vans.
The Angel Inn at Corbridge already operates the Angelfish hospitality van, which serves the same high-quality fish and chips offered at the Angelfish shop that opened in the historic pub’s outbuildings in 2014.
And it is now further extending its brand by launching 72 Angels & Burgers, which offers street food including char-grilled burgers made from freshly ground Northumbrian beef and lamb; Posh Box, a converted horse box which serves bespoke coffee, crepes and cakes; and Moroni Pizza Shack, which offers freshly-made pizzas cooked in a clay oven.
All the Angel Street Food vans are set up to offer restaurant-quality food using only the best local produce, and will primarily be targeted at corporate events and private functions around North East England.
Three new full-time jobs have been created as part of setting up and running the new project, with teams of casual staff almost being employed at each event, and booking of each van can be made via the www.angelstreetfood.com website.
More than 100 invited guests tried out all the Angel’s new food offerings at a successful test event at the start of July, and contracts have already been secured for a number of events in the coming months including Taste Tynedale, Burgham Horse Trials and Stamfordham Village Fair, as well as for several corporate and private functions.
Long-term advisor RMT Accountants and Business Advisors have worked with the Angel’s directors on all the financial and management aspects of the hotel’s latest venture.
The Angel Inn offers seven bedrooms and a self-contained apartment as well as a bar, lounge and barn restaurant, and has seen its overall turnover almost double to around £2.5m since coming under new management in 2011, with staff numbers rising to now reach 53.
Kevin Laing, managing director at the Angel Inn, says: “The Angel’s reputation for high quality food is well established and respected, and it makes sense to maximise the use we make of it by widening the range and availability of the food that we offer.
“Street Food is all about fun, and we want to over-deliver on expectations. Our aim is to provide restaurant-quality food and drink from each of our vans by using only high quality ingredients, and to ensure we differentiate ourselves fully from the levels of catering that you might ordinarily expect from most mobile facilities
“It makes logistical sense to focus this new venture primarily on North East England, as we know the market very well and have a strong reputation on which to build, and we’ve been very pleased with the initial reaction from both existing and new customers.
“RMT’s excellent support and advice has helped us make terrific progress over the last few years, and we’re very confident that our new street food venture will take us another big step forward for us.”
Paul Gainford, commercial services director at RMT Accountants and Business Advisors, adds: “The Angel management team have always taken a forward-thinking approach to developing an impressive range of services, and have created an exciting street food concept that’s unmatched in the North East in terms of both quality and range.”