A new pizzeria will soon open its doors in Macclesfield, but not in a location you might think.

The Waltzing Matilda Boat will soon be serving walkers along Macclesfield Canal as the new restaurant will be based on a barge of the same name.

The unique venture is the brainchild of the father-and-son team, Paul and Chris Edwards who are partnering in business together for the first time.

They are no strangers to the canal as Paul, 53, has lived on his canal boat next to the Waltzing Matilda for four years.

Chris, 25, told Macclesfield Nub News: "We were just sitting on the boat and he was thinking instead of investing in property or something like that, he wanted to do something on the canal, like a café of some sort."

"I'm a chef, so we put two and two together and came up with this, a floating pizzeria and café."

Chris said the barge will not be serving "standard takeaway pizza", but will instead use their pizza oven to create a "classic Napoli style".

If restrictions allow when they open in May, there will also be a small seating area inside the boat where café style baked food, coffee and tea will be served.

There will also be a serving hatch for walkers on the go where people can grab their pizza slice and coffee without leaving the towpath.

"Eventually we will do some taste nights where we can take people on a cruise down the canal and hold the likes of a Japanese or French food nights," Chris said.

Chris has been a dab hand in the kitchen for eight years now, working in a Manchester hotel along with three years in New Zealand where he "honed" his skills as a chef.

He said: "I've always wanted to do something for myself and the lockdown has given us the time to look setting up a business.

Paul, nicknamed 'the dough', by his son used to run a building firm, so he is taking on the work to transform the Floating Matilda into a kitchen and café.

He works as a bus inspector at Stagecoach where he has been for around 25 years.

On going into business with family, Chris said: "I haven't worked with my dad, business-wise, before. At first we did think, 'well maybe it could cause some arguments', but everything so far has gone so smoothly.

"I think it's great that it will be a family run business. My sister will do all of the baking with lots of vegan options, brownies, cakes and stuff like that. "

"I've missed a lot of family occasions over my career with the long hours of the job, so it'll be nice spending those hours with a team as a family."

While Chris currently lives in Stockport, he said he could be tempted to join his dad and sister in a barge of his own one day.

The Waltzing Matilda Boat is set to open its doors and hatch in May. Keep up to date on their Facebook page.

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