A Salford fish and chip shop sold one thousand portions of fish and chips for less than £2 over the weekend as it celebrated 40 years in business.
The Kingfisher Fish Bar at Salford Precinct has been run by the same family since 1986 and has now entered its third generation of ownership.
On Saturday 18 July, the hard-working fish fryers behind the Salford takeaway sold a thousand portions of fish and chips for just £1.80 to hungry customers.
Meanwhile, Kingfisher ran a raffle, tombola and cake stall in support of Dancing with Dementia, an award-winning local charity that uses music and dance to bring people living with dementia closer to their friends and family.
The chip shop’s current custodian, Angela Owen, said that she recalled having her 8th birthday party in 1989 at the chip shop, and runs it alongside her sister Helen Cartwright.
She recalled her father, Phil Cartwright, taking over the shop from Fred Lancaster when Salford precinct was a “bustling, great place to be.”
Fish and chips have always been a huge part of Angela’s life, as her nan Ann Cartwright “started it all off” by opening a chip shop on Tib Street.
The Kingfisher chippy remains the longest-standing business at Salford precinct.
“It is something to be really proud of; we consider ourselves really privileged to be part of the journey that Salford has been on,” Angela said.
She added that it feels “massive” for the family to have been ever-present at Salford Precinct for more than four decades and appreciates the support Kingfisher’s regular customers have shown the fish and chip shop down the years.
“In the 90’s and 80’s you didn’t have social media, so your local customers were in a local radius, or a mile radius max, so you couldn’t really reach the wider community,” she explained, noting that it is now possible to lure in hungry fish and chip fans from further afield by advertising their offering online.
Angela added: “We have survived some really challenging times, most recently Covid-19, and it’s so expensive now.”
On the ever-changing fish and chip industry, she said that the days of the beloved British staple being a cheap and cheerful takeaway option are coming to an end.
“Fish and chips isn’t really a cheap tea anymore like it was, the consensus is that it should be cheap, and it’s not anymore but we still try our best to give value for money.
“The most challenging thing is the cost. That’s what we battle.”
Angela explained that, over the last 40 years, Kingfisher has evolved into a much-loved institution, providing continuity in an area affected by constant change.
“For our older customers, we might be the only people they interact with in a week, or two weeks,” she explained.
All the money raised by the celebration was kindly donated to Dancing with dementia, a local Salford dementia charity. More information about Kingfisher Fish Bar is available here.
