Ken Knowles (Kenny) flipped his final burger in St James’ Square in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Kenny’s departure marks the end of an era for Newport’s late night pub and club goers, who have frequently made Bitesize (commonly known as Kenny’s) their final port of call before turning in for the night.
Happily, his name will live on as the new business owners have decided to rename the popular burger bar ‘Kenny’s’ in his honour.
Island Echo caught up with Kenny in the early hours of Sunday morning shortly before closing time.
First, we asked the amiable South African how he had come to the Isle of Wight and what he thought of our Island.
Kenny replied:
“I love living here. I met my South African wife – who comes from a completely different part of the country – in London when I was travelling. We got married in ’86.
“We decided to live south of London because its warmer. I had been a car salesman in South Africa. I phoned BMW dealers to look for work in England – the only job available was in Newport.
Article continues below this advertisement “What I like about the Island is that it is safe. What I don’t like is getting on and off. I say: bring on the fixed link.”
As well as being a car salesman and legendary burger shop proprietor, Kenny was also a talented local footballer.
Kenny says:
“I used to play football to a decent standard in South Africa. I’d just turned 40 when I came here. I thought I’d play a few games to meet people and ended up playing for 14 years.”
Kenny scored a hat-trick aged 54 for Niton in his final game against Brighstone before hanging up his boots.
Island Echo asked Kenny about how he has enjoyed being the proprietor of Bitesize and the characters he has met plying his trade.
Kenny told us:
“99 per cent of the people I’ve met here have been nice. There are too many characters to pick out one. You have to be a bit eccentric to be there at that time.
“However, if I had to pick out a favourite person, I’d say Laura – who comes every Friday – and used to live in the flat above. She’s never complained about the noise.
“Business has never been better. 15 years have flown by. I’m popular because I’m open late. I’ve been overwhelmed and humbled by the response to my retirement.
“I treat everyone equally, no matter what their background, religion and so on.”
We asked Kenny about the downsides of his late night burger bar business.
Kenny told Island Echo:
“I don’t like obnoxious people, but I don’t get them very often. And if someone’s completely out of order, I don’t serve them.
“I sometimes get frustrated when people wait 10 to 15 minutes to be served and then don’t know what they want.
“I nearly had to close down during the 2nd lockdown. I got no help from the Council and had to wait 6 weeks for a response. With no nightlife, I had no business. I should have qualified for a discretionary payment.”
Finally, we asked Kenny what he intends doing in his retirement.
Ken says:
“I’m going to play a lot of golf. And I’ll do sudoku to keep my mind sharp. I’ll do my best to keep active.”
Ken is handing his business over to Jay Smith-Dowse and his partner Marcus Davey.
Jay told Island Echo he will be working on the principle that ‘if it’s not broken, don’t fix it’. The new partners therefore intend to offer the same range of late night products as Kenny.
However, the new business owners intend to add mushrooms to the long list of products you can add to your burger because of popular demand. They will also be serving donuts again – Kenny’s original line of trade before he started the night time burger business.
I got no help from the Council and had to wait 6 weeks for a response. With no nightlife, I had no business. I should have qualified for a discretionary payment… No help from the council what a surprise. All the best Kenny
This guy sold me my BMW in 1998. In those days the Newport BMW dealer was HGL. A very pleasant chap and a great transaction. I still have the BMW. Ken Knowles’s business card is still in the pocket in the service manual case. I often wondered in the years since what had happened to him.