When Pete Fraser began looking at upgrading Frasers in Penzance, he knew the shop needed a complete rethink, but it was the discovery of a local grant, covering 55% of the cost of his new high efficiency Kiremko frying range, that turned a long-term plan into an immediate overhaul.
“Without that grant I’d still have had to upgrade,” Pete says, “but not to the extent we have.”
Frasers had been selected for a high street regeneration fund available for local businesses that met strict criteria, one of which was demonstrating energy savings. “KFE were brilliant. They pulled together all the energy saving figures for the new range that we needed as evidence and we were successful in getting a grant for 55% of the cost of the frying range.”
The need for an upgrade was clear. Frasers had originally been a takeaway with a 32-seater restaurant, but Covid forced Pete to close the restaurant permanently. “The old range wasn’t configured for a takeaway at all,” he explains. “It still had a pass for feeding the restaurant and it was small. When we were busy, we had pans on everywhere and baskets being moved about.”
The grant meant Pete could not only replace the six pan Kiremko but rethink the whole shop from scratch. As a result they were able to accommodate an eight pan L-shaped Kiremko range – Pete’s ninth range from KFE. “The difference is massive,” he says. “With the new configuration our oil use has dropped by about a third even though we have two extra pans. Energy savings were part of the grant requirement, and we’re definitely seeing those too.”
The increased efficiency and capacity have had a knock-on effect across the business. “We’ve protected jobs and our sales have gone up,” says Pete. “We’ve even introduced home deliveries, which we simply didn’t have the capacity to do before.
“Because of the grant, I’ve got a state of the art frying range that is capable of probably doubling the sales we’re doing at the moment and I’ve got a good looking shop, so now we can have fun marketing the shop and taking it to its full potential.”
The new range also supports Frasers’ Coeliac UK accreditation by providing a dedicated gluten free pan with its own filtration. “It’s a lot of work to maintain that accreditation, but it brings whole families in,” Pete says. “We calculated that about 12% of our sales had a gluten free component.”
The grant-funded upgrade has allowed for an expanded menu too. Burgers are now cooked on a Synergy grill incorporated into the range instead of being dropped into pans, and chicken products are finished too. “Quality has definitely gone up,” Pete says. “We’ve been able to diversify because the kitchen can finally handle it.”
Perhaps the biggest difference is the shop’s ability to cope with the extreme seasonality. “If it’s sunny, everything goes mad; if it’s wet and windy, we barely see a seagull pass by. The frustration before was not being able to cope on the really busy days. I’m just thrilled not to be in that position anymore.
“The grant and the new range really have taken the shop to a completely different level.”
Contact us on 01778 380448 e-mail sales@kfeltd.co.uk today and see if we can help you access a grant!