Krispies to expand with new takeaway in Exeter

Award-winning fish and chip shop Krispies is opening its third business later this year in what owners Kelly and Tim Barnes call their “dream” location.

The chippy, which has branches in Exeter Road and Pines Road in Exmouth, Devon, will be opening in Isleworth Road, Exeter, in October. It will offer walk-in, click and collect and delivery, and will employ an additional 25-30 members of staff.

Opening a takeaway in Exeter has appealed to Kelly and Tim for several years due to the city’s huge student and family populations.

Kelly comments: “We’re really excited to be coming to Exeter, it’s been the plan for so long. It has one of the biggest universities in the country but there are also a lot of chimney pots so it’s a very family-based area as well which means our target audience isn’t just one genre, it’s a massive collective.”

The unit is currently an empty shell that needs fully fitting out, but when it’s open it will offer the same menu as its two counterparts, plus vegan options aimed at the student market.

Kelly adds: “I’m a bit apprehensive about starting from scratch but what we’ve learned from Pines Road is that click and collect and delivery works, it’s about 95% of our trade there. Exeter Road, on the other hand, is very traditional, 65% of our trade is click and collect and the other 35% is walk-ins and we can’t ignore that. So we’re taking both models to Exeter and amalgamating them into one.”

The student market will be a key focus for the business when it launches, with Kelly adding: “We are looking at going to Fresher’s Week, that will be the focus of our first marketing plans, but we’re not going to go along and just promote Krispies, we’re going to hand out sanitary products, condoms, things that students need. We might be a fish and chip shop but we understand what that generation needs and needs help with.”