A mum has switched from a struggling salon to making matchday meals for football fans and she's loving the move. When covid struck Steph Collinson was left with the dilemma of what to do.
And faced with the ongoing uncertainties which rose during the pandemic she decided to close the salon and make the switch to selling food. Despite being robbed twice in the early days she now says she has "found her niche" serving up burgers and fries among other foods to fans, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Steph told how her life turned around when she got a lucky break which saw her given the chance to move her sandwich van, names from a layby to Southport FC. Since then her popular foods have gone viral twice in two months.
The mother-of-three said: "It all started when I was going through a really bad time. I opened my butty van in Burscough by the tip in a little layby but I got robbed there twice. I was scared and didn't want to go back because it was just a layby.
"My initials are actually SFC because my dad is obsessed with them. I had all this personal stuff going on and then one day the caterers let them down when my dad was at the match so he called me. I got in touch with the club and I came in and did the away end.
"I was just happy to be there but I wasn't really making any money. But I think I've found my niche now. I've now got the home end, the away end and two vans. It's just amazing. Everyone at Southport is so good."
Steph, who named her Lourdes Deli van after her youngest daughter, first went viral with her dirty fries which even saw Piers Morgan's son Spencer weighing in with his view on the @FootyScran post. While he was less than impressed with the meal other fans were overwhelmingly impressed giving it a 79 per cent vote of approval.
Then last week the site, which sees fans take pictures of food at matches, saw thousands approve of the Lourdes burger features beef, bacon, cheese, onions and hash browns. Hundreds more retweeted the post.
The 39-year-old, mum to Aaliyah, 16, Bella, 11, and Lourdes, two, started providing food at the match in November in the away end but has already expanded. She now has two vans set up in the home and away ends with eight members of staff serving hundreds every other week. Thanks to Southport's link with Everton, she also serves food at Everton U23 matches as well.
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