The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Chippers are battered by soaring costs
With the cost of living increasing, ingredient prices rising and a lack of customers, local fish and chip shop owners are worried for the future.
And as prices are not likely to decrease any time soon, traditional takeaways are struggling to stay afloat.
The ongoing conflict in Ukraine, among other factors including Brexit, has had a knock-on effect on supply, with white fish and sunflower oil – two key ingredients – being severely impacted in the UK.
According to the National Federation of Fish Friers, a total of 62% of fish sold in fish and chip shops is cod and 25% is haddock.
Some local chip shop owners told The Courier they have been forced to increase their menu prices up to 10 times more than their usual rise.
Lindsay Forbes, 47, owner of the Popular Restaurant on St Andrews Street in Dundee, has seen a reduction in the number of customers visiting his establishment throughout the past three weeks. He said: “I have been open since 11.30am today and I’ve only had one customer.”
Trying to adapt his operating hours to suit locals, Lindsay says opening during the day may not be an option for him in the future.
“I am going to start opening from 4-9pm on a Thursday and Friday and not open during the day.
“But I think when people have to reduce their spending the first thing they do is stop eating out.”
The cost of ingredients have doubled and in some cases trebled, resulting in the Popular being forced to increase its prices.
Lindsay added: “I have tried to swallow the increasing cost for a long time, but I am not getting as many customers so I’ve had to put my prices up.
“I normally increase it by 5p, but I have had to increase it to 60p, which I have never done before and it is still not enough.”
Lina Molinaro, the 37-year-old owner of Frankie’s Fish Shack on Balfield Road, Dundee, tells a similar story of her experiences thus far.
She said: “Customers who would normally come in twice a week are only coming in once.
“Everything has increased by 35-40% and it is the biggest challenge we have ever had to face.”
Lina has also seen the war in Ukraine affect availability of products and believes the lack of supply will ultimately result in many shops having to close.
She said: “The war is having a massive impact and it is driving the prices of the raw materials through the roof.
“There is the shortage of fish and I think some shops will have to close.”
For Frances Vella, 53, he has never seen rises to this extent since his gran took over the Victor Fish Bar on Blackness Road, Dundee, in the 1950s. He said: “This is the worst we have ever seen. There are always rises in fish and chip shops, but not to this extent.
“We are in survival mode at the moment as we don’t know what will happen in the future.”