“Guernsey drinks more prosecco than Jersey”

Thursday 07 September 2017

Jersey’s Prosecco Van set up camp in Guernsey for much of this summer because the island's residents are far bigger drinkers of the bubbly substance, its owner has said.

Jayne Grant, the woman behind the quirky yellow Piaggio Ape van that dispenses the classy tipple at festivals and outdoor events across both islands, said that she had been forced to put a beer on tap too in a bid to please Jersey people.

“When in Jersey, we had to put on a Piretti – a beer – on one of our taps because we found prosecco sales were a bit slow. Over in Guernsey, it’s all prosecco – we only sell the odd pint when the husband’s in the queue getting his wife a glass of prosecco,” she explained.

But that isn’t the only reason Jayne is now a stalwart of Guernsey’s alfresco dining initiative ‘Seafront Sundays’. Part of the other island’s attractiveness, she explained, was the favourable pitch fees of £10 to £50.

Pictured: Jayne said that the pitch fees and licensing laws were far more "progressive" in Guernsey.

In Jersey, meanwhile, she has previously been forced to pay up to £900 for her place at festivals – a premium, as she was selling alcohol. “That’s 365 glasses of prosecco just to break even.” 

Moreover, Guernsey’s “more progressive” alcohol licensing system in which the Court sits every Tuesday to grant applications – compared with just a few times a year in Jersey – also makes business easier.

Along with more modern laws and more accessible pitch fees, Jayne would like to see Jersey further embrace pop-up business culture. “I think young entrepreneurs in Jersey find it hard to get on and do things because there’s a lot of red tape. It would be great if there was a little spot in town they can just rent for a week or so.”

Those fees, which are most commonly in the hundreds, can be particularly lethal for profits when combined with bad weather. Kira Everett’s Barberette Van, a mobile hair salon, had to leave the Weekender on Sunday after a downpour made her gazebo go "haywire" and fears that muddy customers would ruin the van’s floors.

Rain at the Boat Show also hit the stall and mobile business community hard earlier this year, including Domingos burrito van.

“You lose money on some [festivals],” owner Dom Sanchez explained. “It’s a gamble. Look at the Boat Show. It was a wash out. I lost money on that… You’re forever looking at the weather if you’ve got a truck, but you can’t be disheartened.”

Despite the industry’s difficulties in Jersey, pop-up businesses are booming across the Island. Concepts like Street Food Thursdays are also helping the high street at a time when the UK’s average weekly footfall continues to plummet. 

“The initiative has brought a fantastic ambience to the town centre, the feedback from customers and vendors has been amazing,” Town Centre Manager Daphne East commented. 

Pictured: Domingo's Dom Sanchez said that bad weather combined with high fees meant that mobile businesses could sometimes lose money.

Struggles aside, it seems like the mobile business market won’t be running out of gas any time soon.

Read the full feature, 'Getting the show on the road' in Connect magazine by clicking here.