Popular sandwich shop to open second outlet in Portsmouth

Andre’s Food Bar, which has a shop in Southsea, has announced its second outlet in the city will be opening as early as next week.

Owner Andre Guedeny said: ‘After revamping the shop in Osborne Road over two years ago with my cousin, we wanted to expand the business.’

The shop was formerly known as La Croissanterie and was opened in 1988 by Andre’s parents.

He said: ‘My parents opened the shop when I was eight so I have grown up with it all.

‘I was serving behind the counter and helping out, so I have always been involved in it and opening a second store is great especially as this year is our 30th anniversary.’

The new shop is taking over the former Deli 2 site on Lord Montgomery Way and will serve a variety of sandwiches, quiches and family recipes.

He said: ‘Our garlic chicken is really popular and the secret recipe has been in the family for years.

‘I think people like our sense of family and we put out high quality food and make sure our customer service is always top-class.’

As part of this year’s exciting progress for the brand, Andre and his team are working on plans for a 30th birthday celebration.

He said: ‘Details are top secret at the moment but we want to celebrate what our family has achieved with our customers.’

Andre is hoping the new shop will appeal to students at the city’s university.

He said: ‘It is close to the buildings for the University of Portsmouth so we hope we will get more students through the door as our Southsea shop does not see many.

‘There is a Subway and Greggs near to us, but any competition is good competition and I think students will be excited to try something new.’

Looking to the future, Andre hopes to expand further.

He added: ‘I don’t think we would have another shop in Portsmouth and so we would probably look further afield but it is something we have in mind.

‘I think a store in Dubai would be great and I am sure lots of my staff would be more than happy to take a shift there.’