We spoke to the owners of Edwin's, the Lebanese takeaway in Poulton-le-Fylde which is taking the local food scene by storm
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00:00So how did you start the takeaway here in Bolton?
00:04Okay, so we've got one over in Lydham, which is called Eldon Street Food.
00:10This is a sister takeaway to Eldon Street Food, and that's been there for about four years now.
00:15Just over four years, yeah.
00:17Oh yeah, sorry!
00:20So, what made you want to expand from the one in Lydham and start here as well?
00:29Right, so basically, the one in Lydham, that's been really successful.
00:35We sort of opened in pandemic, which was in 2020, around August, I think, kind of end of August, yeah.
00:44So that's been very popular to the point, six weeks of opening, that was number one on TripAdvisor.
00:50And then, you know, all the feedback and everything was absolutely fantastic.
00:55Yeah, in terms of opening this one, we're getting so many customers coming from Blackpool, Cleveland, Fleetwood, Bolton.
01:02So yeah, I thought, you know, it's a nice town, you know, it's a very similar vibe.
01:07So yeah, yeah, I'm just going with this then, yeah.
01:09Yeah, so what kind of, why specifically Lebanese food?
01:14So Lebanese, it's a Lebanese style food.
01:16Basically, our background is like, our dad was from Yemen, which is in Middle East, next to Saudi Arabia.
01:22So yeah, the background is Middle Eastern, and our mother is from Afghanistan, which is South Asia.
01:28So it's got like a good mix, but the majority is Middle Eastern.
01:32Then you've got things like, you know, your steak and chips, your burgers, barge burgers, you know, halloumi flatbread.
01:38So it's got a good mix in terms of that.
01:40Yeah, so it's all like Middle Eastern style, majority of it.
01:44Yeah, so you've seen a lot of success, a lot of people coming in.
01:47What's been the most popular family dish that you've had?
01:49Well, it depends really, but I can tell you about four or five that really flies off the shelf.
01:55You've got Lebanese chicken, that's the box meal, which is, that can be rice, salad, yogurt, flatbread, a bit of salsa.
02:02You can always add some fries and halloumi cheese.
02:05And then we've got shawarmas, which is lamb shawarma, chicken shawarma, that's more like a flatbread wrap sort of thing.
02:11Again, that can be rice or chips, so you can have a bit of both.
02:14Steak and chips are really popular with the young ones.
02:17Then you've got stir-fried noodles, you know, that just literally flies off.
02:20It's more like a healthy option.
02:22We also do like Buddha bowls, which is like a salad base.
02:25So, you know, if you fancy something for lunchtime or something like that, you know, that's really popular for that.
02:30Yeah, you've got a couple of different kinds of salads in that one.
02:33You know, you can have like as much protein as you like, or, you know, vegan or vegetarian options available.
02:38Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:40Were you expecting such a positive, positive feedback from, or a positive start?
02:46To be honest with you, we knew it was going to be busy.
02:51But the feedback and the response we've had is absolutely insane.
02:56It's nice and steady in the daytime, you get a lot of tradesmen and, you know, families and stuff coming in.
03:01But when it gets to evening, it's absolutely mental.
03:04We've been wanting to start deliveries for a while now, but it was so busy.
03:09We're just thinking that we need to find our feet first, you know, so fingers crossed, that's what we're looking towards as well.
03:14Yeah, fingers crossed. Do you have any kind of message to everyone who's come in?
03:20Yeah, I mean, people that haven't tried, you know, I would just say that, you know, just come and try it.
03:24You know, it's got, literally we're trying cater for everybody, you could say, you know, there's like healthy options.
03:30There's also things like, even our burgers got its own twist to it.
03:34It's not like any box standard street burger, you know, we've got like our own herbs and spices, we make the patties here.
03:40Yeah, just come and give it a try.
03:42I think you'll like it, you know, because it is something different.
03:44I feel like, you know, the town actually probably needed something different as well.
03:48So, yeah, that's the response we've had. So, yeah, yeah, just come and try it.
03:52You say the town needs something different. Do you feel this really stands out?
03:58100%, 100%, yeah, that is the exact feedback we've had, you know.
04:02So, people saying that, you know, there are obviously, you know, other places here, you know, some other takeaways and, you know, some healthy bars as well.
04:10But it is something different.
04:12There is nothing like us, you know, in the whole area, to be honest, you know, not just Bolton, Cleveley's, Fleetwood, Blackpool, you know.
04:20The majority of the things on the menus are our own recipes.
04:24Literally, you know, you won't find them in any of the books or anything, you know.
04:28So, it's been passed on from generation to generation.
04:30My mother's added a lot of influence, you know, in terms of like, you know, how we do our rice and stuff like that.
04:36So, yeah, yeah.
04:38You mentioned wanting to do deliveries as part of the Future Funds. Do you have any other Future Funds, maybe, set up somewhere else?
04:44I mean, we do a lot of outdoor events, you know.
04:46We do like festivals, you know, weddings, birthdays, corporate events, you know.
04:52We do a lot of that. This year, we've been jam-packed, you know.
04:54We literally had to decline, you know.
04:56Obviously, you know, this has been really busy as well.
04:58But yeah, yeah, we do all sorts, you know.
05:00We are looking to expand, you know.
05:02We're heading, fingers crossed, you know, we're heading towards Manchester, you know.
05:05So, yeah, yeah. We'll see how it goes.
05:17This is my sister, by the way.
05:19And if you come to the shop, you'll see it's all family-run, you know.
05:23Her brother's here, my other sister's over here, nieces, nephews, everything.
05:27It's the majority, I'd say, goodnight.
05:29It's literally family, you know.
05:31Yeah, so, yeah, yeah.
05:33I mean, you come in and you'd feel like that.
05:35You'd feel welcome and you'd get that family vibe, you know.
05:37So, yeah.
05:49Yeah, 100%, you know.
05:51I mean, you know, we've always been very, very close, you know, family unit, you know.
05:55So, yeah, it's just good vibes, you know.
05:57It's just positive vibes, you know, when you walk in.
05:59We'll look out for each other, you know.
06:01We'll make sure that the products bang on.
06:03Yeah.
06:05Is there anything else you'd like to say?
06:07No, is there anything you want to say to them?
06:09No, yeah.
06:11Yeah, that's right.