Greasy Vera's: Memories of 'best sarnies ever' as legendary Sheffield takeaway inspires new play

A much-mourned Sheffield takeaway, famed for its 'Chegg Burgers', is set to make a comeback - on the stage.

Greasy Vera's, which stood for many years on waste land at the end of Corporation Lane, opposite the Riverside pub in Kelham Island, earned cult status for feeding night shift workers and revellers alike.

The takeway, which operated out of a converted blue Austin van, served everyone from police officers and ambulance staff working through the night to revellers and numerous celebrities like Freddie Starr and Alvin Stardust who had been performing at the Fiesta cabaret club.

Legendary late night snack van ran from 70s to 2000s

Initially run by husband-and-wife Vera and Les from the 1970s, it was later taken over by John Smith and survived into the 2000s.

Now John's daughter Michelle has announced she is working with a theatre creative to write a play about Greasy Vera's and her dad.

She said they would be taking the play to Sheffield's Theatre Deli in 2024 for an 'audience participation show'.

She urged people to share their stories and photos of Greasy Vera's, which was one of the city's first late night snack vans, by emailing [email protected].

'Brilliant place' served 'best sarnies ever'

Memories have flooded in on social media, with former customers describing it as a 'place of sanctuary' which served the 'best sarnies ever', along with the famous 'Chegg Burger' - a burger with cheese and egg.

One person wrote: "Your dad’s van was a place of sanctuary to myself and many of my former ambulance service colleagues when en route back to our station, often meeting up with like minded police officers. We considered it a welcome break after enduring the Friday/Saturday night chucking out time melees."

Another commented: "Absolutely loved visiting after a night out, often got the taxi to drop us off there, for the best sarnie ever."

A third person said: "I used to love going there in early hours after roxys or any other club for a double chegg burger. Brilliant place." And a fourth person wrote: "Remember it? Impossible to forget. Never did manage to get the egg stain out of my new boots. The Chegg Burgers were awesome, though, and prevented many a hangover for sure."