Banjoe's, Hull: Burger van owner credits 'loyal' Yorkshire customers, good quality food and five star hygiene rating for 21 years of business success

Joanne Potter, originally from Wakefield, moved to Eastbourne when she was 13 years old before moving to Crawley as an adult. She worked as a stewardess for British Airways for six years where she travelled the world.

In the aftermath of 9/11, the travel industry took a hit and as a result, Ms Potter took unpaid leave before moving to Hull with her partner at the time.

During her leave she worked a few jobs and her dad, who owned a burger van on a site outside B&Q on Ferry Lane, suggested she take over and she’s never looked back. Now 21 years later the business has survived recessions, Covid-19 and she admitted that would never swap the job for anything else.

“Where I’m situated in East Hull is a great place for [my business],” Ms Potter told The Yorkshire Post.

“Obviously outside a DIY store people are having their kitchens done, it’s workmen, so it suits the customers that come to the van. I’m getting the right type of person.

“The money was better [at British Airways] than what I was getting [at Banjoe’s], obviously the conditions were different, but I was working for myself.

“I carried on because I had a really good business, if the business hadn’t been a success, I more than likely would have left Hull.”

On February 17, 2024, Ms Potter and her staff celebrated 21 years in the business.

She has reflected on what has made her business a success.

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“People will come up to me and they’ll say ‘these are the best burgers ever’ and it’s unbelievable, they’ll come from York, Leeds, Wakefield, it’s word of mouth that’s got it around,” she said.

“The secret is that I buy good quality food, I buy good quality burgers, sausages, red cakes etc.

“We go through five sacks of onions a week, I get that smell going around the car park and you’re not hungry until you smell it. It entices you in. The people will come back and absolutely love it.

“I just think we serve good quality food at good prices, I’m not saying we’re the cheapest around but I’m a great believer in you get what you pay for.

“Our customers know that they are getting good quality food when they come to us, they know it’s cooked fresh, they know we’ve got a five star hygiene rating, always have, they know that they get a smile and they get to chat.”

Hull’s community spirit and pride are what stands out about Hull, Ms Potter said.

“I just think it’s a really great city, everybody is very close knit in the community,” she said.

“I don’t know what they were like when it was a fishing industry but I’ve heard stories from the legendary Hessle Road where everybody is very proud to be from Hull.

“Even though I’m not from Hull, they’ve accepted me as part of their community, which is really great.

“My accent obviously stands out, knowing I’m not from here but they’re just really lovely people. I think that’s what stands out to me about Hull, they’re very loyal, they stick by you and they support you.

“It’s so lovely when they say ‘that’s the best burger we’ve ever had, can you please come to York, can you get another one near where we live’.

“People are by-passing so many different establishments to come to us; there’s one guy who passed seven different cafes. We get them coming from the seaside. I think that’s what makes it.”

She shared a typical day in the life of the owner of Banjoe’s and admits that the training she received at British Airways helped her with her business.

“I get here at about 7.30am, I work by myself during the week; on the weekdays we have one person at the weekend we need two and you don’t stop,” she said.

“There’s no seat to sit down on, even if there was I wouldn’t sit down because it’s just go go go. You’re up cooking, filling the water, chopping and peeling fresh onions, cleaning when you’re not cooking because obviously we like to keep it immaculately clean to keep that five star rating.

“I chat to the locals, chat to the workmen and before you know it it’s 2pm and you’re winding down to start cleaning, I’ll stop serving at 3pm and practically leave there about 4.30pm. It’s a whole day.

“I will say, customer service training at British Airways was known to be one of the best in the country or in the world in fact.

“I do think having the training from that job has given me the rapport I have with the customers. It doesn’t matter that it’s just a little burger van in a B&Q car park, it’s the effort, you chat to the people and that brings people back.”