FSB Member Stories: Charley Crane, Eli’s Pop Up

FSB Member Story 4 Jul 2022

Five friends and young entrepreneurs made their dream a reality and started their own street food business. Co-founder Charley Crane shares their journey and how FSB helped them to gain publicity.

Charley Crane launched Eli’s Pop Up in Hatfield with four of his friends. Co-founder and FSB member Danny Wheeler lost his job due to the pandemic and decided to reach out to his friends to turn his long-time business idea into a reality.

The young entrepreneurs noticed the lack of restaurants that focussed on community engagement and local support. The street food business was launched to rival the larger food options.

“If Eli’s could provide a fresh and fun selection of new flavours whilst interacting with the community through the likes of sponsoring local football teams, customer competitions, being vocal about using local suppliers and giving the community the chance to vote on our menu options - it’d be a winning formula,” said Danny.

“Eli’s is now fighting for market share with some of the biggest brands in the world. We have been blown away from the support from the community and it shows that ‘support local’ is alive and well,” he continued.

Want support for your business like Charley? Join the Federation of Small Businesses today.

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Running your own business is rewarding, but you don’t have to face the challenges alone. As an FSB member, you’ll have all the support and expertise you need to start, run and grow your business.

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