Skip to main content
Birmingham Live

The iconic Birmingham street food van which has only served 'lovely customers' for past 35 years

Mr Bumble's Jacket Potatoes is a Birmingham landmark which attracts a fanbase of support week after week

Leigh and Rob Paton own Mr Bumble's Jacket Potatoes, one of Birmingham's favourite street food vans
Leigh and Rob Paton own Mr Bumble's Jacket Potatoes, one of Birmingham's favourite street food vans(Image: Robson McCallister/BirminghamLive )

In a city centre dominated by chains, one Birmingham street food van continues to stand the test of time. Mr. Bumble's Jacket Potatoes has been a lunchtime favourite for customers for the past 35 years.

As part of Mr Bumble, the husband and wife team of Rob and Leigh Paton have sold spuds at the same spot outside House of Fraser opposite a McDonald's and Greggs on Cherry Street for decades.


Jacket potato street food vendors have seen a recent increase in popularity thanks to TikTok, but Mr Bumble is one of Birmingham's oldest street food vans. Thousands of potatoes later, the couple spoke to BirminghamLive about about their popularity, social media and why customers keep coming back for more.

Read More: I visited the 'bleak' Birmingham street and found a surprise at the end

Leigh said: "You can't beat a humble potato, can you? I eat two a day and have done for 35 years. I'm fit as a flea and will be 63 next month. I think I'm a good advert for them. We get loads of tourists now, particularly since Spudman blew up on TikTok. That's helped us all.


Lesley Powell and Leigh Paton at Mr Bumble's Jacket Potatoes
Lesley Powell and Leigh Paton at Mr Bumble's Jacket Potatoes (Image: Robson McCallister/BirminghamLive)

"Everybody came to tell us about him but he actually visited us in 2022. Ben's a lovely man and said that his van in Tamworth was not doing particularly well so we had a big moan about how shocking trade had been since Covid.

"It's now taken off and fair play to him. We're too old for TikTok, we're 63 this year. I've never wanted to do social media and we don't have the time. I hate to say it but we're busy enough."


Rob added: "TikTok has put jacket potatoes on the map as something that was traditionally old fashioned. It's a modern phenomenon and now you have Ben at the height of social media raving about a product that has been around for years."

We tried the famous Spudman when our food reporter Kirsty visited last year to see if it was worth the hype. After waiting two hours for a jacket potato, you can click here to see how she got on.

A chili and cheese jacket potato at Mr Bumble
A chili and cheese jacket potato at Mr Bumble(Image: Robson McCallister/BirminghamLive)

Cutting back to Mr Bumble, the idea originated when Rob and Leigh worked at Midlands Electricity Board in the 1980s. Rob had always expressed interest that he wanted to work for himself.

In 1989, the couple alongside two people from work set up their first street food stall selling potatoes. Their first event was a motor show in Stoneleigh Park., a successful weekend which inspired Rob and Leigh to pursue this venture.

35 years later, Leigh said: "I can't express my gratitude to customers, thank you for your loyalty. I always write a note at the front as 'dear lovely customer' because it's true. All we get are lovely customers, horrible ones don't come.


"We've known some for 35 years. Births, marriages, deaths, we have been through the lot with them. We've had our own two children during that time. We like to think we're friendly and someone said once that 'people eat with their eyes'.

"If you look friendly and your food is good, that's all you need to do. But you have to do that consistently everyday.

"We've had a great life out of this, we can't complain. We're a family-run business and I wish we could see more of that.

Article continues below

"I wouldn't change a thing and don't regret it one bit. . I just like people. it's amazing what you can find out in two minutes over serving a potato for someone."

Follow Birmingham Live:

Birmingham City Centre
reach logo

At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the "Do Not Sell or Share my Data" button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.