Fish and chip shop owner of more than two decades hopes to see ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ in 2025
A Northampton fish and chip shop owner of more than two decades hopes to see the “light at the end of the tunnel” in 2025, as the industry has continued to struggle.
Nick’s Plaice, in Kingsley Park Terrace, was founded by Nick Panayis 21 years ago and has continued to build a positive reputation as one of the town’s long-standing, family-run businesses.
The founder says this was helped by being named the best fish and chip shop in the town by this newspaper’s readers around half a decade ago – and the fact his loyal customers have stuck by him through thick and thin.
Looking back on 2024, Nick said it was a good year and they have made improvements despite having to change prices to reflect the increases they face.
“The price of fish is ridiculous now,” he said, counting himself lucky as he has seen many fish and chip shops close up and down the country in recent times.
Nick did not anticipate that he would have made a success of the business for more than two decades, and shared what he believes is behind their triumph.
“It’s our good food, simple menu and the fact we have kept the same staff,” said the founder. “Customers come in and like to see familiar faces. We encourage the staff to remember names and orders.
“Our regulars have been very loyal and spread the word so other people come and try us.”
Nick is pleased to see how many Google reviews the business has received, and hopes to hit 700 soon. He encourages people to share their feedback and believes this is a big factor in why they get so many new customers.
Talking about the future of the fish and chip shop industry, having previously shared that he thought it was in decline, Nick said: “It doesn’t look good.
“We might have to put our prices up but that hopefully won’t be the case. We’re hoping for a good year, fingers crossed.”
The founder acknowledged that not only is the town losing small independents but big businesses too. He said: “Try and do the best you can and hopefully we will see the light at the end of the tunnel.”