A family waited inside a service station for more than three hours to be among the first to bag one of 100 free items being given away at the opening of a new SpudBros site.
Preston-born brothers Jacob and Harley Nelson officially opened their second SpudBros location in Merseyside at around 12pm on July 23. The site is at Beacon 62 Service Station, an EG On The Move forecourt on Coppice Lane in Prescot.
The team welcomed its first customers by giving away 100 free potatoes. The queue exceeded 100 people by 12.10pm as customers turned up to be the first to try the potatoes at the new site.
Family first in queue
A family of SpudBros super fans were the first in line after arriving at 8.45am. Jacqueline Lowry, 39, from Huyton, waited alongside her children, niece and nephew, who were all excited to try the jacket potato combinations on offer.
Leighton Lowry, 11, from Ireland but visiting his cousins in Liverpool, said he is the biggest SpudBros fan of the group. He said: "I've never tried one before so I can't decide what I'm going to get on it. I love watching their TikToks and I'm really excited to meet Jacob."
Annie Hodgson, 9, had also never tried SpudBros before but had her sights set on a jacket potato with cheese. James Rose, 7, was given a cap by the SpudBros team because of his commitment to queuing since the morning. He said: "I'm really excited because SpudBros is my favourite food and I'm going to get a jacket potato with cheese, beans and tuna."
Popular brand
SpudBros' journey began in 1955 when a hot potato cart first opened on Preston's Flag Market. Decades later, Jacob and Harley transformed the family tradition into one of the UK's most recognisable food brands.
The siblings achieved international fame via social media, garnering more than five million fans across various platforms. They've charmed the online crowd with personal vlogs capturing snippets of their everyday antics, particularly focusing on their mobile shop – affectionately known as their tram – where they whip up jacket potatoes. Renowned for their POV-style videos, they entertain with footage of themselves preparing spuds topped with favourites like baked beans, cheese, chilli, and tuna, accompanied by genuine "northern banter". Their clips have opened doors to working with top influencers including Sidemen, MrBeast, Alex Warren, and actor Will Smith.
The siblings already have a store in Queen Square in the unit previously occupied by Costa Coffee, which opened in September with a ribbon-cutting, live DJ set, social content moments, and a secret gift for the first 100 customers.
Quick queue success
Not everyone queued for hours. Callum Clements, 27, from Huyton, arrived at 11.25am and was 44th in line. He said: "I saw it being advertised and I only live down the road so I thought I'd turn up and see what it was like. I expected the queue to be bigger so I'm surprised I'm so far up." He added: "I've been to the SpudBros in Preston and the one in the city centre and I love it. The jacket potato with cheese and chicken is my favourite so I think I'll get that one."
Ahead of the opening, Jacob, co-founder of SpudBros, said: "Every time we come to a new opening I get excited. We love giving away free spuds and we appreciate everyone that comes to us for a baked potato. The support we've had from Liverpool has been incredible, so opening a second SpudBros Express location in the city feels like a natural next step."
Boyd Baptist Wahr, Head of Strategic Operations at Taster, said: "This latest opening demonstrates the pace at which SpudBros Express is growing across the UK. Expanding our footprint in Liverpool through EG On The Move is another important milestone in our ambition to make the brand more accessible than ever. Together, we're bringing a fresh, high-quality food offering to convenient roadside locations while continuing to scale one of the UK's most exciting creator-led food brands."
