Eddie Rockets' diner hits Navan square

NAVAN has been trying out the town's latest food outlet with the opening of Eddie Rockets' City Diner on Market Square.

Over the New Year, queues have been forming on the footpath outside the premises, formerly the Square Pint, and in a bygone era, the late Senator Pat Fitzsimons's bar. "We didn't invent the hamburger, we just perfected it," is the motto of Eddie Rockets.

The concept of Eddie Rockets was born in the late 1980s, after founder and managing director Niall Fortune had a chance encounter with a classic American diner whilst travelling around the United States.

He fell in love with the idea of the all American diner and on his return to Ireland, decided that an American-themed diner might just be the unique dining experience that Irish people were looking for.

He immediately began his mission to source the best of authentic American diner fittings - from the much-loved mini-jukeboxes to sourcing diner booth manufacturers and also testing out many recipes in order to cater the Eddie Rockets' menu to Irish tastes.

Finally, Fortune's hard work paid off and he opened the very first Eddie Rockets' diner on South Anne Street, Dublin 2, in the autumn of 1990 - word of mouth travelled fast and the concept diner was a roaring success with people travelling far and wide to visit Ireland's only 1950s themed American diner.

The diner had a huge impact on the Dublin dining scene, simply because Eddie Rockets has a highly distinctive brand identity, a friendly and inviting atmosphere, delicious in-house recipes and generous portions of fresh not frozen food.

After the success of the first diner, Fortune then opened four more outlets in a very short space of time - which were equally as successful as the very first diner. By then, Eddie Rockets had garnered a very special place in the hearts of Irish diners.

Unprompted, people began to ask about purchasing an Eddie Rockets' diner franchise and without ever seeking franchisees, Eddie Rockets then opened a further 10 franchised outlets.

By early 1997, Eddie Rockets had 15 outlets trading, 13 of which were in the Dublin area - a city of 1.25 million people with franchise queries coming in not only Ireland but also from abroad.

To this day, Eddie Rockets enjoys an ever growing reputation which is reflected in healthy turnovers and profitability. The number of outlets has expanded massively and in early 2007 there were 28 city diners and two dine-o-mats in Ireland and one city diner in Liverpool in the UK. Lots more diners are planned in Ireland and Europe.