Burnley bar to sell street food from vintage truck in new venture

Burnley-based William’s Lounge Bar say 'William’s Food Paddock' will serve quality street food, such as gyros and pizzas from a wood-fired oven, from a quirky vintage food van.

If the submitted planning pemission get the green light next week, their new food van will be based at the front of Burnley Methodist Church on Hargreaves Street, which is just around the corner from their bar.

Owners, Keira and Neil Crossley, say they are excited about the new venture and hope it will bring “something different” to Burnley.

Neil (left) and Keira (right) with the managing director (middle) of their new project

Keira said: “We’re introducing something new to the town and it will be brilliant.

“We’ve seen these vintage food trucks and how they have been becoming more popular for events and festivals and it’s just an idea that developed.”

Keira added: “It’s something that Burnley doesn’t have something like this at the moment and we feel that it will be good for the town the moment which is lovely!”

‘William’s Food Paddock’ will be more than just your average food fan and will have a vintage aesthetic that will be a delight to look at.

The Burnley food truck will have a vintage aesthetic

Keira explained: “We wanted it to look as vintage and beautiful as possible. We’re going to have some evergreen planters, wooden bins, festoon lighting...

“It’s also in the process of being branded at the moment - It’s going to look great.”

The couple also had the environment in mind when designing the food van and hope to make their new business venture as eco-friendly as possible.

“We have adopted a greener approach,” Keira explained. “We are going to use recyclable cardboard, we aren’t having a petrol run generator and we have invested in a battery pack instead.”

Neil and Keira knew they wanted to introduce some food to their Yorke Street bar but thought adding a kitchen would “take something away” from the “cosy” feel.

Ms Crossley explained: “The bar itself is very compact, cosy and we would have needed to take away some space from the bar to put the kitchen in.

“The bar got such a unique feel to it that we felt if we put a kitchen in it would have taken away the experience people get from the bar itself.”

The food truck will serve quality street food, such as gyros and wood-fired pizzas

Looking beyond just William’s Lounge Bar, Keira hopes the food truck can also benefit the local community.

“It’s a win-win, not just for us, but for the local community,” she explained. “We hope it can bring something good to the town centre and the church as well.”

If their planning request is accepted by the council, they hope the food truck will be operational withing the next two weeks.

They are planning to open it to the public from Thursday to Sunday and will be accepting orders from around 2pm until around 7pm.