Popular burger bar opens at new Portsdown Hill site after losing previous spot

Route 66 Burger Bar was trading once again as regular punters came out in support of the pop-up van on Tuesday at the new site on James Callaghan Drive, just under a mile from the previous location on Portsdown Hill.

Steve Bray, owner of Route 66, was angry after being turfed off the sought-after spot on Portsdown Hill Road by Portsmouth City Council after eight-and-a-half years. The authority awarded the pitch to Port Solent based Relentless Steak and Lobster House.

Speaking of his first day of trading at the new site, Steve said: ‘It went well. We had a lot of regulars turning up and people were tooting their horns and giving the thumbs up when driving past.

‘It did feel a bit strange being there. But it is only a mile down the road from where we were before. It’s nosier and the customers are mainly people in cars and motorbikes.

‘I’m quite happy with it. Hopefully it will turn out well for us. We are being optimistic, it could have turned out a lot worse for us. We’ve had such good feedback from people.’

A war of words broke out after Relentless won the pitch – with owner Scott Matthews claiming staff at his restaurant had been subjected to abuse and death threats after Steve voiced his disapproval at being ousted in The News.

Route 66’s new location is on private land and Steve said he is happy to have ‘washed his hands with the council for the moment’.

Steve said: ‘I just think how the council do it (their tender process) is not right. They say they help small businesses but they did not help me and nearly put me out of business.

‘They kick someone off the site who has been there for years.’

Responding to Scott’s claims in last week's News about his staff being subjected to intimidation, Steve said: ‘No one is getting threatened.’

Scott had poured water on claims made by Mick Johnsey, of Mick's Monster Burgers further along Portsdown Hill, that there is not much money to be made at the site. ‘There is huge potential on Portsdown Hill,’ Scott said last week and said it was a ‘prime location’.

The restaurant owner also believes his pop-up bar will do well at the site after his business did ‘obscene’ trading in lockdown from a pop-up bar in the car park at Port Solent.

But Steve doubted the site would prove to be the golden goose Scott hopes. ‘If he thinks he is going to do what he did in lockdown then he is in for a big disappointment,’ he said.

‘In lockdown there was nowhere to go and everywhere that was open was busy.’

Steve also questioned whether Relentless was ‘big enough to get the capacity of people’ at the location which has a ‘tiny car park’.

Steve added: ‘He’s got a bit of a shock coming to him.’

Last week Scott said plans to bring their American-style food outlet to the site had been delayed due to the fallout with Route 66 after spending £70,000 in getting things ready, including a ‘high-tech’ van.

The burger van will offer full English, gourmet burgers and lobster, as well as Costa Coffee for punters from 8am to 11pm.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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