The duo behind Great Yarmouth’s classic Yankee Traveller restaurant are looking to expand the brand with multiple sites across the borough.
At a time when it is impossible to eat out, Oliver Hurren and Charles Thurston have seen more interest than ever in their King Street eatery, a staple of Great Yarmouth’s dining out culture that has endured for nearly 50 years.
Speculation was rife when Yankee Traveller signs went up at the former First and Last pub in Ormesby St Margaret, accompanied by a flurry of activity as the site was tidied and cleared.
The business partners have now revealed it will host their new retro Airstream aluminium trailer - the genuine US article which has set them back tens of thousands of pounds.
Mr Hurren said as lockdown eased there would chairs and tables outside the mobile unit and that while Yankee Traveller did not own the pub building, there was an option for them to do something with it.
“We are bringing the burgers to the people,” Mr Thurston said.
“It will be a taste of the Yankee Traveller.”
Mr Hurren said they had been bowled over by the takeaway trade at the restaurant during lockdown, proving there was a huge appetite for the menu, loved by generations.
“The brand is so strong. It has been a massive Yarmouth staple,” he added.
The pair reopened the King Street restaurant last year after it shut suddenly over Christmas in 2018, devastating burger fans.
They are now looking to expand the brand “in as many locations as possible.”
The Airstream will be based at the First and Last, but also visit other rural locations, and they are looking at ways to serve the southern villages too.
It dates from 1977 and was once used by music lovers to tour the Rhythm and Blues scene in the US.
The Airstream pop-up restaurant will offer burgers and a few mains and sides and will open “imminently.”
Mr Hurren added that like many in Yarmouth he had grown up with the brand and that he and Mr Thurston understood what it meant to people and shared their passion for it.
The First and Last pub was sold after auction in April for an undisclosed sum.
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