TikTok-famous jacket potato chain SpudBros is opening its second Scottish outlet as the rapidly expanding food brand moves into the north-east.
SpudBros Express will open at the City South EG On The Move forecourt on the A90 at Portlethen, near Aberdeen, today (Wednesday).
The first 100 customers arriving from noon will be given a free jacket potato to mark the launch.
It comes less than three months after SpudBros opened its first permanent Scottish restaurant at 126 Lothian Road in Edinburgh.
The brand has become one of Britain’s biggest social media food success stories after brothers Jacob and Harley Nelson transformed a traditional Preston jacket potato business into an online phenomenon.
Their videos of huge loaded baked potatoes helped SpudBros build an audience running into the millions across TikTok and other social platforms.
The Portlethen opening is part of a major expansion which is taking SpudBros beyond its traditional high street restaurants and into roadside locations.
The company is working with food brand operator Taster and EG On The Move on plans for 30 SpudBros locations at forecourts around Britain over the next three years.
Jacob Nelson said the Aberdeen-area opening represented another major step for the business.
He said: “Aberdeen is another huge milestone for us and we’re buzzing to finally be opening the doors.”
The Portlethen menu will feature the loaded jacket potatoes that made the business famous.
Options include the Tram Classic, which combines garlic butter, a three-cheese mix, beans, crispy onions and the company’s Tram Sauce.
The Spudfather is a considerably heavier option, combining toppings including chilli con carne, tuna coleslaw and bolognese, while customers can also build their own potato from the available fillings.
A breakfast menu has also been introduced by the growing chain.
SpudBros traces its roots back to Preston, where a hot potato business was established in 1955. The Nelson family took it over in 2020 before Jacob and Harley turned to social media and developed the modern SpudBros brand.
The company’s own website says its online community has now grown to more than eight million “spud lovers”.
The first SpudBros Express north of the border opened in Edinburgh this summer as part of a separate development agreement with Scottish franchise operator SUR Group.
That deal is intended to bring ten SpudBros Express sites to Scotland, with further locations expected as the company grows its national footprint.
The new Portlethen outlet will normally open from 11am until 9pm from Sunday to Thursday and until 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
It is based at City South on the A90, where the EG On The Move forecourt already includes food and drink operators including Starbucks and Sbarro.