Fish and chip van tops list of best Darwin restaurants, thanks to social media savvy of part-time cooks

A fish and chip caravan in a car park run by two part-time cooks with no hospitality experience has beaten 239 contenders for the top spot on a Darwin restaurant review website.

What has been seen as evidence of social media's power and the business savvy of owners Grant Wales, 30, and Kate Jellis, 27, the small, red van of Jetty And The Fish out-rated well-known Darwin restaurants - including Pee Wees at The Point, Hanuman, Char and Evoo - on review website TripAdvisor.

The duo, who both work in the public service, moved to Darwin three years ago and saw an opportunity.

 Photo : Grant Wales and Kate Jellis, who operate the van part time.

 "We saw a gap in the market and went for it. We thought we'd get rid of any social life," Mr Wales joked.

Neither have a background in hospitality and Mr Wales admitted they have had a steep learning curve.

"Things still happen, like running out of gas, or petrol for the generator. We are still learning," he said.

Mr Wales said he and Ms Jellis knew when they took on their new business it would be crucial to harness the power of social media and use it to their advantage.

"We use review websites when we are travelling," Mr Wales said. "We knew we would have to be active in that."

They promoted their grand opening on social media in August and listed the van on the review website in September.

The relatively small number of reviews for their venture all garnered five-stars, which catapulted them to the top of the rankings for Darwin eateries, above more expensive and established restaurants.

Mr Wales said it was always part of their plan to engage with customers, both in person and online.

Price not the only motivator for choosing where to eat

Andrew McEvoy, former head of Tourism Australia, said businesses needed to realise many of their potential customers were basing their decisions on reviews posted by others.

"If you get a great comment you should celebrate and repost it, but if you get a bad one you should acknowledge if it is right and do something about it," he said.

Mr McEvoy said people were looking at more than price when making a decision about where to eat.

"People want to feel like it is passing the value equation, that is, the experience over the cost," he said.

Mr Wales said the pair had enjoyed "incredible meals" at Hanuman and Pee Wees, and the Jetty And The Fish's number one spot was also due in part to the van's location, a seaside car park on the Casuarina foreshore.

"There are the best sunsets in the world that bring people down to the foreshore. People come to spend time with friends and family," Mr Wales said.

"Fish and chips by the water, you can't really go wrong."

Photo : An equine diner and rider visit 

He said the pair tried to be resourceful and do much of the set up work on the van themselves.

"We found a run down old food van, which took a good couple of months to fix up," Mr Wales said.

He said much of the internal fit-out was done at the place of "an old guy", who let them park the van at his workplace while they completed the finishing touches.

"He told us he had been helped out in a similar way years ago... and he was paying it forward," Mr Wales said.

As to the name Jetty And The Fish, Mr Wales said the pair had designed the logo themselves and looked to their childhoods for inspiration.

"We wanted something that sounded like a child's novel. It is perfect for the setting," he said.

Source : ABC News James Dunlevie October 29th, 2014