Southend cost of visiting fish and chip shops spiralling

A portion of cod and chips is a staple of any Southend summer holiday, and now business owners, residents and holidaymakers are noticing an increase to this once affordable treat.

Figures from the ONS, highlighted in the Telegraph, revealed fish and chips is the takeaway option with the biggest increase in prices.

Like many seafront businesses in Southend, James Nicholls, owner of Ye Olde Fish and Chip Shop, has felt the impact of sky-high supplier costs.

James Nicholls: Owner of Ye Olde Fish and Chips Shop (Image: George Pizani)

He said that in the fish and chip business, “ingredient costs tend to rise over the summer anyway” but added the combination of inflation and increases to minimum wage has been particularly hard to manage.

“You absorb it to a certain extent but when you get another rise you have to pass it on,” he said.

“Recently, we were absorbing the cost of ingredients, but when the minimum wage increase came in, we had to make a bit of a change.”

One of the ways James has navigated soaring costs and business overheads has been to simplify his menu, focusing on dishes that see the most consistent demand from customers.

"You've got to make the most of everyday!": Jenny Tyler and Pamela Lynch (Image: George Pizani)

“We’ve tried to make the menu simpler, things that are more expensive have come off the menu, and we’ve tried to focus on the basics.” he said.

Despite the added pressures of inflation, Ye Olde Fish and Chip Shop remains a popular choice.

“We’re still busy, and our location is a massive plus for us; when the sun’s out, we do well. We’ve actually had to expand into another shop, and we’d still like to go bigger.”.

For Southend resident Jenny Tyler, who tends to get a takeaway “once or twice a week” increases to the price of a meal have not gone unnoticed.

“I’ll usually have Chinese and sometimes fish and chips and the prices have gone up enough for me to notice. It’s been going on since the pandemic and sometimes I don’t even notice until I go to pay.” she said.

But have the price increases deterred Jenny from her weekly takeaways? “No, it hasn’t,” she said.

“You’ve got to make the most of every day!” added friend, Pamela Lynch.