A POPULAR food business will be expanding and opening a new premises at the end of the month.

Calvin Addenbrook, who currently owns The Old Smithy at Leece Lane in Barrow, will open AJ's Bistro on January 26, serving breakfast in the morning and burgers, stone baked pizzas and dirty fries in the evening.

Two new chefs have been hired for the new kitchen and all food will be prepared fresh on-site, separately to the existing fish and chip shop.

Mr Addenbrook said: "We were going to do a little expansion to do potatoes in a different kitchen.

"But we thought if we were going to do something, we might as well make it big.

"We decided to do it as a new business."

The idea has been around for the last 12 months but he wanted to do it properly.

He said: "That's when things go downhill, when chippies start to do all kinds of food.

"So we're keeping it separate for that reason. The staff in the bistro will only work on that and they will be run as different businesses."

That means that customers will not be able to order a burger alongside fish and chips but quality should remain at its highest.

It will be open for collection and takeaway from the same premises but a different window than The Old Smithy currently operates.

"We're really excited but a bit nervous. We've spent a lot of money on this so it means a lot to us," he said.

"The chippy has a good reputation in the local community and we've had loads of people saying they are looking forward to trying it."

The bistro is named after Mr Addenbrook's son.

It will be open from 8.00am until 11.00am in the morning, and then from 3.30pm to 9.00pm in the evening, with menus different depending on the time of day.