THE GROUP
News
Facelift planned for world famous Cap’n Jaspers
11 December 2009
Cap’n Jaspers, the world-famous eatery that started life as a plywood shed on Plymouth’s Barbican, is planning a facelift.
The café, famous for its half-pound Jasperizer burger and half-a-yard hotdogs, has become so popular with locals and visitors from around the world that it is struggling to meet demand.
The plan is to install a new serving area facing the Barbican Glassworks and revamp the existing servery on the opposite side of the building. Each servery would open onto outdoor eating areas covered by new permanent canopies made from aluminium, steel and timber.
Georgie Curtin, whose late father John Dudley opened Cap’n Jaspers to raise money for charity as part of the Barbican Regatta in 1978, has run the business with her husband Adrian since 2001.
She said: “We get people coming from all over the world but with just one servery the queuing time in the summer is far too long. We want customers to have a more relaxed and enjoyable experience with more undercover seating, and we will create the equivalent of 15 full-time jobs if the plans are approved because we’ll need more staff.”
Georgie has also promised a new range of motorised gadgets which have kept waiting customers amused for decades having been built and designed by her father over many years using windscreen wiper motors.
A planning application has been submitted to Plymouth City Council by the Sutton Harbour Group, which owns the building and leases it.
Nigel Godefroy, chief executive of the Sutton Harbour Group, said: “For many people, young and old, a trip to Plymouth is not complete without a visit to Cap’n Jaspers. We want to continue a tradition that has endured for more than 30 years and ensure that the business remains a fixture of the Barbican for many years to come.”
Cap’n Jaspers, which is open from 7.30 am until midnight, moved to its current location in 1997 when the Barbican Glassworks was developed and occupies what was originally a police station built in the early 1900s at Whitehouse Pier.
The proposed plans, designed by GHK Architects in Plymouth, will not alter the footprint of the main building and will allow the inside to be remodelled with better facilities for staff.
SUH.L
