SIMON BADROCK – PITTA CREPE
MY ALTRINCHAM

Introduce your business and tell us what you’ve been up to recently?
Pitta Crepe is a mobile kitchen based in Stamford Square, Altrincham. We serve quality street food – fresh pitta wraps with homemade fillings, as well as sweet and savoury crepes. Everything is prepared from scratch using fresh ingredients and cooked in the van. We have recently launched a Twitter and Facebook campaign, which seems to be bringing us more business.

What makes you different from other similar businesses in the area?
The obvious one would be that we are based in a mobile catering trailer, which sets us apart from most other food businesses in Altrincham. We also offer something a bit different – fast food, which is prepared using fresh ingredients. At Pitta Crepe we have tried very hard to try and provide a healthy and exciting alternative to the bog standard lunchtime grub available in Altrincham.

What flexibility does being an independent business give you over a national chain / business?
I can choose what I want to sell. A lot of what we sell in the van has come through interaction with the customers, getting to understand what they want.

Looking back, which piece of advice would you give to somebody setting up their own business today?
Have some money behind you. I thought “ah yes I have a great concept and a great product – people are going to arrive in droves” WRONG! As a new business start up you always have a busy first month as people are curious and want to try new things, but then comes the hard graft – if you really believe in what you do, you have to stick to your guns. If you are an independent business just starting up you need time to build your reputation. I underestimated how long this would take, but we’ve done that now and things are really starting to take off.

What part does Social Media play in your business?
I was a non-believer, but now I’ve seen the light! Social media, especially Twitter, allows us to interact with customers and get feedback in a totally different way. It is a very useful tool for promoting our business and for interacting with other local businesses.

And getting to know you and your Altrincham…

Where do you eat / take out in Altrincham?
We don’t eat out very often, but my wife has been banging on for ages about taking her to Coco’s, so we’ll probably go there soon. For take out it’s got to be Chokko De on Shaws Road – really great sushi.

Which is your favourite pub or bar to drink at in Altrincham?
Costello’s Bar in Goose Green. I love real ale and they serve locally brewed great tasting award winning beer at fantastically low prices.

Where is your essential must visit shop in Altrincham?
Being a fairly typical male I don’t actually do any shopping unless I absolutely have to, which is usually only to buy presents for my lovely wife. Rackhams for perfume, Monsoon for other stuff.

What’s been the most impressive new business you’ve seen open in Altrincham in the past 12 months
In terms of visible impact it’s got to be either the Barclays on the main street or the new Wilkinsons just opened up next to our shop. For sheer quality and tasty fantasticness it’s got to be Chokko De on Shaws Road.

In an ideal world What major improvement would you like to see happen in Altrincham?
I’d love to see a multi-million pound upgrade to Altrincham interchange – oh my god is that really happening? OK, I’d like to see a brand new Altrincham General hospital – oh my god is that happening too? Ok, finally I’d love to see 10p parking to encourage more people to come and shop in Altrincham – get out of here, has that already happened too? Looks like Altrincham is on the up!

And if we want to look you up on Social Media what’s your facebook / twitter addresses?
Twitter: @pittacrepeuk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pittacrepeuk

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