A CHEF has been given the go-ahead to open a new food truck in St John’s.
Joe Bishop will sell breakfast rolls, burgers, chips, vegan options including halloumi wraps and more from a trailer near the junction of Solitaire Avenue and Oldbury Road.
Mr Bishop, who used to run Ye Olde Talbot in Sidbury, was granted a street trading licence by Worcester City Council at a meeting at the Guildhall on Thursday, October 1.
Mr Bishop and his supporters had endured a tense wait outside the historic building as councillors sitting on a licensing sub-committee decided whether to approve his application.
TRAILER: The food truck that will soon be parked up in Solitaire Avenue (Image: Worcester City Council)
The idea had come about as customers of convenience store Loco kept asking whether the shop could start selling hot food.
Owner Kelly Gill reached out to Mr Bishop and the food truck idea was born.
The trailer will even be located on land belonging to the shop.
“We totally support this application,” Ms Gill told Thursday’s meeting, adding that the scheme had gained “overwhelming support” in the area.
Councillors were told more than 400 people had signed a petition calling for the application to be approved.
But not everyone was in favour – more than a dozen people objected to the proposal, citing concerns over its location close to the junction of the busy Oldbury Road.
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Elmira Adams, speaking at the hearing, said traffic is bad enough as it is at peak times without the additional traffic caused by a food van.
Mr Bishop, who had already left his job and invested in the business, said he was aiming to be a “responsible trader” and would buy quality ingredients from local suppliers, pick up litter in the area, and ensure queues for his food van do not block the pavement.
He said the trailer would close at 8pm as he didn’t want to be a late night venue and instead of using delivery platforms like Uber Eats and Deliveroo, free deliveries within WR2 would be carried out on an electric bike.
Mr Bishop also said he will “make it company policy” to ask people to move on if he sees them parking unsafely.
“I won’t allow them to pull and shout their order out of the window, which I’ve seen happen elsewhere in St John’s,” he said.
A packed public gallery cheered as Councillor Jill Desayrah confirmed Mr Bishop was being granted a licence.