It's all change at a Nottingham fish and chip shop which will close its doors on Saturday night (June 17). The Priory Fish Bar will be having a makeover and when it reopens on Monday, June 26, there will be new faces behind the counter.
The chippy, off the A52 Derby Road near Priory Island, is close to homes in Beeston, Lenton Abbey and Wollaton. It has been in the hands of the Kavalieros family since 2000. For the first five years, the family ran it themselves, but more recently there has been a series of managers.
Christina and George Ellinas will be taking over - the daughter and son-in-law of the owners Helen and Andy Kavalieros, who have run Andy's Fish Bar in Bilborough since 1996. Customers will be in for a treat since George was named one of the top 10 young fish fryers at the age of 23 in the National Fish and Chip Awards in 2020. He is the son of an award-winning chip shop owner in Redditch.
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Helen said: "We're back. We were born and bred in the chip shop trade. My dad's chip shop in Alvaston is now run by my brother and that has been established for over 50 years. George's grandpa's shop has been established for over 50 years and he's been working there since the age of 17."
The chippy's exterior will be revamped and the shop will be rebranded as The Priory Fish and Chips. "We were hoping to put a new frying range in next week but it won't be made in time so we will be closing again the first couple of days in August. The three-pan cooker will allow us to offer gluten-free, which they don't currently do," added Helen.
The chippy would have reopened sooner but they are hoping the price of potatoes will fall after reaching an all time high. Helen said: "The reason we are not opening midweek is because the cost of potatoes have reached an all time high of £25 for a 25kg bag this week and possibly going to be £30 next week so it wouldn’t be worth opening.
"This has never happened since the 1970s so we are waiting for the new crop and hoping the price declines quickly. This may help the public understand why fish and chips is no longer a cheap meal. Everything is up. Gas and electric have doubled and tripled. Stock prices are rising every week. This is the reason a lot of chip shops are closing or selling up. Times are tough right now."
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