Couple who threw in their daytime jobs for full-time fries celebrate one successful year of their Commercial Road shop in Portsmouth

Owners of Fries Love, Anna Gosiewska, a former council worker, and Jack Sobczak, a former plant operator, who threw in their 9-5 jobs for full time fries are celebrating one year since collecting the keys to their store on Commercial Road.

The restaurant, now serving an array of funky fries, from Belgian to Japanese to Canadian, was founded by the couple in 2018, coming to life in the seaside town of Bognor Regis as a yellow, potato shaped food-trailer.

Upon discovering the popularity of their fries, Jack and Anna, who first moved to Bognor from Poland over 10 years ago, decided to expand – moving to Fratton and opening their store.

‘The first three months for us was refurbishment, the painting, fitting the kitchens, electrics,’ said Jack. ‘On Anna's side was the designing and on my side was the work.’

‘Our life completely changed,’ added Anna. ‘Running a restaurant is completely different to running a trailer, our lives got turned upside down!’

One year on, the pair say they have begun to adjust to their new way of life and are keen to continue growing their menu which now includes Korean Street Food such as corn dogs, burgers, poke bowls and curry’s – as well as their signature unique fries.

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Jack said: ‘We were the first to introduce Korean kitchen and corn dogs in Portsmouth, there’s no one else doing them here!’

Anna added: ‘It was experimental for us, but people just love our food. Never have customers complained, they always leave empty plates and come back!’

The family business, including the couple’s three-year-old son Frankie who is already eager to get in the kitchen, is going from strength to strength.

‘The last year has been very challenging,’ said Jack. ’Cooking, redesigning the menu, finding new products, conversing with people, experimenting with new tastes has become our day-to-day.’

‘We still wake up with a smile on our faces,’ added Anna. ‘We’re still driven, even though it was a really challenging year, we learnt a lot, we met a lot of new people. We really enjoy what we’re doing, and we still would like to learn more!’