BELFAST BRIEFING:Even a chip shop that serves Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams burgers is not immune to recession

IT APPEARS not even King Billy is immune to the economic downturn in the North based on one of the current properties on the books of an east Belfast estate agency.

Vision Property Agents is advertising the opportunity to purchase a “piece of cod for Ulster” and possibly a portion of history for a price tag starting at £40,000.

In the current purse-tightening climate in Northern Ireland that kind of cash would buy you a lot of chips – which is exactly what you are going to get for your money.

Vision Property is selling two of the infamous For Cod Ulster chip shops opened by young Belfast entrepreneur David Kerr just over two years ago.

Kerr’s venture combined a sense of humour with a quirky taste of Northern Ireland politics which has resulted in a very different kind of chippy.

His east Belfast-based outlets give customers the opportunity to try anything from an Ian Paisley to a Gerry Adams burger or even tackle a George Best – “bird on top beef down below” – burger.

Kerr’s current menu also features the King Billy’s Family Feast – a recession beating combination of two adult meals, two kids’ meals and sides, all of course for £16.90.

The 23-year-old initially launched his venture in a blaze of publicity in 2007 when economic confidence was high and while house prices were still climbing.

It was a brave move by the young entrepreneur to combine politics with food in the heart of loyalist Belfast and proved an immediate hit, particularly with tourists.

Kerr wanted his east Belfast-based chip shops, which feature colourful murals depicting Paisley and Adams, to give tourists a more tolerant taste of Northern Ireland life.

“We are the only place in the world where you can eat Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams. Some would say we are more like a museum than a chippy,” Kerr proclaimed on his website.

The chip shops soon became a regular stopping-off point for many of Belfast’s bus tours.

Kerr also developed a sideline business selling For Cod Ulster products from key rings to T-shirts and teddy bears.

He grew his initial chip shop to a chain of three and had discussed plans to expand his business across the North. At one stage he was also considering setting up a franchise operation in the South.

But the slowdown in the North’s economy appears to have taken the bite out of Kerr’s business appetite.

His For Cod Ulster outlet on Belfast’s Upper Newtownards Road is for sale with a price tag of £40,000, and another outlet on the Albertbridge Road is on the market for £50,000.

Kerr did not want to comment on the latest developments but it is understood he plans to continue operating his other outlet on the Holywood Road.

His personal experience of establishing a new business only to be hit by the impact of the economic slowdown is being replicated every day across every town and city in the North.

New research published this week shows Northern Ireland was the only part of the UK not to enjoy an upturn in business activity last month.

The latest Ulster Bank Northern Ireland PMI survey says the workforce is shrinking and predicts the expected recovery will be “weak”.

According to Richard Ramsey, the bank’s Northern Ireland economist, the local private sector has now posted 20 consecutive months of output declines. He says a lack of demand is continuing to weaken the pricing power of firms, which, in turn, is squeezing profit levels.

The study reinforces what people already know in the North; there is no sign of any real improvement in the local economy. In fact further job losses like the 138 confirmed over a 24-hour period last week only serve to confirm that local businesses are struggling.

Yet there are examples of how some businesses and entrepreneurs are making a determined effort to ride out the economic slowdown.

Belfast-based celebrity chef Paul Rankin, who has endured his own financial difficulties recently, believes “old-fashioned business values” are the key to surviving the recession.

Earlier this year Rankin and his wife and business partner Jeannie agreed terms of an individual voluntary arrangement with creditors in relation to debts as a result of financial difficulties.

Rankin has put his heart and soul into revitalising his business, primarily his Cayenne Restaurant in Belfast, and his work, according to the chef, has paid off. He says his restaurant has benefited greatly from the surge in visitors Belfast has enjoyed this summer.

But probably more important is the fact that Rankin took stock of what needed to be done and took action. “I believe a good restaurant reflects its owner’s values. What I am determined to deliver is really good quality food and really good value and we always look after our customers.

“That’s our core values. We do whatever it takes to deliver those values whatever the economy is doing. Our restaurant is buzzing and it’s busy and that’s where we want it to be.”