A SOUTHEND institution is being revived by a “determined” businessman as he seeks to “restore it to its former glory”.

Rossi Ice Cream's current owner has vowed to “scoop it all back together” and take Rossi even further.

Entrepreneur James Sinclair, who also owns Marsh Farm, bought Rossi in 2021. He took the firm on when it was losing £400,000 a year and is working tirelessly to rebuild it.

“I get a strong sense of pride from being responsible for Rossi,” Mr Sinclair, 38, said.

“Who wouldn’t want to make ice cream for a living?”

“Rossi has existed for four generations. I feel very privileged to be part of that.”

Echo: Proud of his product - James Sinclair is keen to innovate Rossi's offering, with new flavours and new products such as coffee.Proud of his product - James Sinclair is keen to innovate Rossi's offering, with new flavours and new products such as coffee. (Image: Ben Shahrabi)

Mr Sinclair started out as a magician aged 16, quickly forging a name for himself as a family entertainer.

From there, he opened a range of “Partyman” children’s indoor play centres throughout East Anglia, before expanding his empire further “to build brands that families love”.

However, despite owning some of the most popular brands in the county, Mr Sinclair admits he does not feel successful.

He said: “I’m proud of the 1,200 staff we’ve got across the business, but I just keep going.

“If I just wanted to make money, I’d build a load of property. But I like making dinosaur parks and ice cream.”

Over the last 20 years, Rossi’s shops were sold. However, Mr Sinclair is determined to buy them all back.

On Friday, the company completed its purchase of the shop on Marine Parade which was previously sold.

He said: “By the end of this year, we'll have eight Rossi shops selling ice cream and our brilliant baked products. Our next big innovation is ‘Rossi coffee’, coming later this year.

“We’re keeping up to date with trends, but we also want to keep our heritage flavours and branding.

“People love rum and raisin, but they’ll also love our mint Aero and strawberry cheesecake ice creams.”

“We’re building brands that families love.”