Port Solent restaurant owner says staff have received death threats and warnings building will be burnt down with it set to replace popular long-running burger bar on Portsdown Hill

Scott Matthews, who runs Port Solent based Relentless Steak and Lobster House, revealed he has had to delay the opening of his mobile food van at the site of the now departed Route 66 Burger Bar based on Southwick Road, on Portsdown Hill, amid fears for his staff.

As reported last week, Route 66 Burger Bar has been turfed off the location after being gazumped by Relentless Steak and Lobster House.

Steve Bray, owner of Route 66, said his livelihood and that of his staff had now been thrown into jeopardy after an ‘unfair’ and ‘strange’ tender process that he was only told about at the 11th hour by Portsmouth City Council.

Steve left the location after eight-and-a-half-years on Sunday while Mick's Monster Burgers further along Portsdown Hill – the city’s longest running mobile burger bar of 42 years - was among those to question the decision.

The council’s decision has left Steve questioning the process and launching a Freedom of Information Request to uncover what happened.

But Relentless owner Scott said he simply applied for the pitch in late October after it appeared on the council’s new tender application system on its website. ‘Anyone could have got it,’ Scott said before adding: ‘It was fair. If it was a house no-one would moan.’

He added: ‘I wish Steve luck.’

Scott said he went through a rigorous due diligence process from the council before being given the green light at the end of December. ‘We saw the tender come up and applied and then had to wait a long time,’ he said.

After doing an ‘obscene’ amount of trade from a pop up burger bar in Port Solent during lockdown Scott admitted that was the inspiration for the American-style food outlet they plan to bring to the site.

‘The van took more money than the restaurant ever did,’ he said. ‘On a Saturday evening in the restaurant we get around 120 people but we had 300 people in two hours at the van.’

Scott said they had to stop serving in the afternoon after running out of burgers such was the demand.

At the Portsdown Hill pitch Relentless will offer full English, gourmet burgers and lobster, as well as Costa Coffee for punters being served from the ‘high tech’ machine that opens from 8am to 11pm.

‘For us it is a prime location where we want to be. People drive past there all the time,’ Scott said, before pouring cold water on claims made by Mick Johnsey, of Mick's Monster Burgers, that there will not be much money to be made.

‘There is huge potential on Portsdown Hill,’ Scott said before pointing at the revenue Mick brings in.

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But the opening has been delayed as he waits for the furore to calm down and get more staff in position. ‘We’ve spent £70,000 getting things ready but I can’t see us opening in the next month,’ Scott said.

‘I need more staff on the vans just in case. We have been threatened with vandalism. It would be unfair for the staff and chefs not to have more people there for support.’

Revealing the hostility he and his staff have faced over the council decision to oust Route 66 and award it to Relentless, Scott said: ‘We’ve had death threats and people saying they burn us down and beat us up. It is ludicrous.

‘It’s not nice to have staff answering the phone to abuse and screaming. We’ve had to put on extra security on the front door and have spoken to Port Solent for us to have extra cameras on the doors.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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