Coventry fish and chip shop owners hit by 'ridiculous' energy hikes with bills soaring from £600 to £2,500Skyrocketing energy bills and food prices are at an all-time high, and local fish and chip shops are struggling to stay afloat. A harsh reality faces our historic high street classic as costs soar each week.
A chip shop supper was for a long time regarded as a cheap fancy-free meal, but in the current climate, these much-loved local businesses have been forced to up prices to survive.
Locals have also been feeling the pinch, which means some will not be able to eat out as much as before. With this in mind, fish and chip shops across the city are dreading the next few months.
Charles Economou, 50, has been at the helm of one of the most popular fish and chip shops in Coventry for almost three decades. Charlies Plaice, on Sewall Highway, attracts customers from all over the city and was recently voted the best city chip shop by CoventryLive readers.
However, the popular chip shop has faced significant challenges due to rises in energy costs and food price inflation. Charles, 50, said in all his time running the local business, he has never seen such severe price hikes with costs doubling in recent months.
“It is affecting everybody. It is gas and electricity, it has gone mad and everything has gone up. We only sell fresh fish in the shop so our fish is an extortionate price, but we have to try and survive, try and hold tight for the next year or so and see how we go from there” said Charles.
Charles has also seen his energy bills 'double' over the past six months. He said the supply cost of fish, potatoes and other chip shop staples has also risen significantly.
He said: “A box of oil we used to buy for £13 or £14 is now £29.50. It is more than double, what do you do? We cannot buy cheaper oil because it is not as good so we have to try, we are lucky because we have been here a while and got customers behind us.”
A change in customers' purchasing habits has also led to a steady decline in profit with people buying 'smaller portions' or alternatives to expensive chip shop staples. “Customers are buying a lot of smaller things, like sausages instead of fish, they are not buying pies as much now,” said Charles.
Charles has been forced to hike prices but found this 'difficult' as he did not want to pass the extra costs onto customers. He said: “It is difficult because I have been here over 25 years and the customers, you do not want to pass everything on to them because we know they have got electricity and gas bills to pay at home as well.”
He added: “I think everybody is in the same boat. It is more or less about survival and seeing what happens in the next six months.”
With oil, fish and other staples skyrocketing, Charles is now having to reconsider the future of his fish and chip shop. He said: “We are going to have to see how trade is, we have seen a little bit of a downturn. It is dead after 8.30pm, so there is no point in staying open with all of the lights and the gas cookers burning away. It is a no-brainer really if we have got no customers.”