Future bleak for Chippies hit by rising costs
FANCY-FREE MEAL, BUT NOW SHOP OWNERS ARE
SKYROCKETING energy bills and food prices are at an all-time high, and local fish and chip shops are struggling to stay afloat. A harsh reality faces our historic high street classic as costs soar each week.
A chip shop supper was for a long time regarded as a cheap fancy-free meal, but in the current climate, these much-loved local businesses have been forced to up prices to survive.
Charles Economou, 50, has been at the helm of Charlies Plaice, on Sewall Highway, for three decades and it attracts customers from all over the city and was recently voted the best city chip shop by Telegraph readers.
However, the popular chip shop has faced significant challenges due to rises in energy costs and food price inflation. Charles said in all his time running the local business, he has never seen such severe price hikes.
“It is affecting everybody. It is gas and electricity, it has gone mad and everything has gone up. We only sell fresh fish in the shop so our fish is an extortionate price, but we have to try and survive, try and hold tight for the next year or so and see how we go from there” said Charles.
Charles has also seen his energy bills ‘double’ over the past six months.
He said the supply cost
of fish, potatoes and other chip shop staples has also risen significantly.
He said: “A box of oil we used to buy for £13 or £14 is now £29.50. It is more than double, what do you do? We cannot buy cheaper oil because it is not as good so we have to try, we are lucky because we have been here a while and got customers behind us.”
A change in customers’ purchasing habits has also led to a steady decline in profit with people buying ‘smaller portions’ or alternatives to expensive chip shop staples. “Customers are buying a lot of smaller things, like sausages instead of fish, they are not buying pies as much now,” said Charles. Charles has been forced to hike prices but found this ‘difficult’ as he did not want to pass the extra costs onto customers. He said: “It is difficult because I have been here over 25 years and the customers, you do not want to pass everything on to them because we know they have got electricity and gas bills to pay at home as well.” He added: “I think everybody is in the same boat. It is more or less about survival and seeing what happens in the next six months.” With oil, fish and other staples skyrocketing, Charles is now having to reconsider the future of his fish and chip shop. He said: “We are going to have to see how trade is, we have seen a little bit of a downturn. It is dead after 8.30pm, so there is no point in staying open with all of the lights and the gas cookers burning away. It is a nobrainer really if we have got no customers.”
Charles added that he would like to see the Government lower VAT for small businesses as they did at the height of the pandemic. He said in doing so the much-loved chip shop would be able to ‘move a lot freer’ and potentially reduce prices for customers.
Elene Kattou, 56, who runs Marina Fish Bar on St James Lane, said she has too felt the effect of rising costs. Since taking the business over five months ago, the price of fish and potatoes has doubled.
She said: “Fish has gone up, potatoes have doubled in price to just ridiculous prices compared to what we used to pay. A box of fish has doubled in price.
“One box of fish that we get is costing me £305 whereas before it was probably £140 or something like that. I only put my fish up in the shop by £1 but if I would have doubled the fish, really it would have been £11, but you cannot sell a piece of fish for £11. I am too scared to put my prices up in case I lose the footfall.”
Luckily, Elene managed to escape the energy price hikes as her brother-in-law, whom she took the business over from in April, had already signed a fixed deal which has locked the price for the duration of the contract.
I think everybody is in the same boat. It is more or less about survival and seeing what happens in the next six months Charles Economou
A FISH AND CHIP SUPPER USED TO BE A CHEAP, HAVING PUT UP PRICES IN A BID TO SURVIVE
Elene slammed the Government and said the lack of support for small businesses would lead to the closure of fish and chip shops city-wide. She echoed the thoughts of Charles and called on MPS to lower VAT, which currently sits at 20%, to help businesses ‘get back on their feet again.’
Elene revealed that she is currently forking out £1,700 each week in VAT. She said: “I am just about managing at the minute. I am managing to pay my VAT but I am dreading when my other bills come in like my dustbin bills, buildings and contents insurance, all the telephone bills.”
As the global energy crisis deepens, Jimmy Hadjitofi, 62, who runs Beech Tree Fish Bar, has seen his energy bills skyrocket as tariffs continue to rise.
Jimmy, 62, who has run the chip shop for 38 years, said: “Everything has gone up, to be honest. It is not like it used to be.” His gas and electricity bills have quadrupled from £600 to £2,500 in the space of six months.
Despite consistently receiving regular business from the local community, Jimmy admitted that the cost of living crisis has hit him hard. He has been ‘struggling’ with rising costs which has left him feeling ‘really stressed.’
He said: “It makes me feel really bad and stressed. You work all your life and the next minute you have got nothing. What can you do?”
He has been forced to slightly increase the prices of his products which has led to dwindling numbers of customers at usually busy times of the day. “We have had a few customers complaining in the last couple of months, they did not like it to be honest.
“I told one guy if you want me to stay open I have no choice. I show my customers
the bills that everything has gone up and they say ‘Oh my God, I cannot believe this,’” said Jimmy.
Jimmy said he will not be closing early despite the current challenges the business face. “I cannot let my customers down, but the other thing as well if I close earlier, my staff have been here for so many years with me, it is not fair to them because they have got their mortgages, they have got to pay the rent on their houses. If I cut their hours down how are they going to survive? I have to think not just for myself.”
He added: “Some customers have loyalty to me for nearly 40 years. I cannot just let them down and close the doors can I?”
Jimmy hopes the Government will reduce VAT but says at current they have ‘done nothing’ to support small businesses. He said: “We are just waiting for the Government to see if they will help us out, they have done nothing yet for us, they have done nothing for small businesses.
Andrew Crook, President of the National Federation of Fish Friers, has called on the Government to ‘reform the archaic system’ and reduce VAT to help small businesses survive as the cost of living crisis deepens across the country.
Mr Crook said: “We urgently need a reduced rate of VAT to help good businesses survive the current cost of living crisis. We have long argued that the current way VAT is levied penalises the very business we need to support that pay their staff well, declare all of their taxes and invest in their business. This current situation is the perfect opportunity to reform the archaic system and apply a system that gives businesses the headroom to grow.”