Entrepreneur now serves up tasty treats from five locations in Emsworth, Wickham and Thorney Island as his mobile catering vans take off

Ed Collison, from Emsworth opened The Deck restaurant in Emsworth Yacht Harbour in 2016, turning a cafe into a seafood restaurant.

The dynamic entrepreneur, who also completed the Clipper Round the World Race when he was 18, also opened The Deck restaurant in The Chesapeake Mill in Wickham last July.

However the latest lockdown forced him to close his restaurants’ doors, and the enterprising businessman set up shop in a trailer outside.

The public lapped up his goods, leading him to expand and set up two further trailers in different locations.

He now operates trailers called The Deck On The Go at Emsworth Marina, Thorney Marina and outside Chesapeake Mill in Wickham.

The popularity of his food and his friendly service has kept his business going during a tough year - and has even seen him grow his team from 26 people to 42.

The 25-year-old said: ‘We started up during the first lockdown and it has grown from there into three locations.

‘Initially we started the trailers as a mobile catering service for weddings but when lockdown happened we decided to pop the trailer outside our restaurant where the walkers were and it's taken off.

‘It has really helped us to keep the money coming in and helped us to keep the staff on.’

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Ed’s menu offers a range of burgers, hot dogs, bacon baps, paninis and cakes, as well as serving freshly ground coffee and deluxe hot chocolate.

He said one of his best sellers is the smashed avocado and bacon, and his pancakes.

Despite the tough year, Ed shows no signs of slowing down and he is also looking forward to returning to his restaurants, which are opening on May 18.

He added: ‘The last year has been pretty hectic. It has been hard work.

‘It has been really tough but we have grown and we have had one of the best years in business, all thanks to the team's hard work and to trying new things and pioneering.

‘We are now in five locations and that’s amazing.’

For more go to thedeckcafe.co.uk/

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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