imlach

Get the quality right, and you can't go wrong.
Chipper near us must only change the oil in his deep fryer once a week - chips always have that burnt oil taste - YUK!

Indian we use fills the foil containers STACKED to the brim with succulent & tender chunks of chicken. The food is great, and the quantity is HUGE, and hence there's is ALWAYS a long wait - up to 1 hour to pick up! But everyone puts up with it. Indian across the road from it is ALWAYS empty.

QUALITY QUALITY QUALITY....even if it does cost pennies more. Your higher turnover will soon compensate for the extra costs involved in quality food & preparation. People will return quickly for quality, but not so quick for run of the mill.

StickyMicky

i would agree with this 100%

wwp8

dont go for places with, bungalows, where most of the occupants are oaps.
expect chavs/trainee chavs to hang around in/out of your shop.
don't have seats in the shop. (eating area with table ok, but not waiting for meals ie takeaway style) as you'll get bunches of people (chavs basically) sitting there as a meeting place.
there are 2 types of chippies
winners and failure.
don't buy a chippy that does less than 2k a week however if they make approx 1.5k a week and the menu is minimel, its ok.
do consider kebabs chicken and donner.
chicken portions are a hit or miss. mainly miss depending where you are.

remember the following things.
business rates (council tax if there accomodation)
gas, water, electric,
environmental health.
depending on business,
inland revenue,
customes excise.
mortgage

remember stock,.
non foods paper trays etc. depending on business £50+ a week
foods fish etc depending on business £100+
potatoes.
if doing yourself, expect
about 1 hour per bag, prep.
or £5 an hour to employ potato guy.
expect to throw alot of things at the end of the day, if business is not what you expected on that day.
expect to gain weight, as that will be mainly what you'll be eating.
expect to change (basically throw away )food in heating cabinets if theres a quiet hour in the shop, otherwise you'll be selling dry food, and they won't come back.
if i was you, if you never run a chippy before, look around for people asking to manage their shop. or short term rent (not leasehold)
and get experience/see if you enjoy it.
ps good luck.

was halfway selling my shop since nov last year, got confirmation last week she can't afford it....why?
1, she hasn't a penny for deposit (about 25% for businesses)
2, shes borrowing 25K more than what i was selling.


so back to the market, today!


oh yeah one big tip
if you're in a small town make sure you're caucasian

blueone

OK heres a question for you chip shop owners. When ever I have purchased a sausage in batter from a chip shop run by Chinease people it always has a different taste and texture to the batter. It is almost like it is rolled in a thin pastry where as other batters go frothy and crispy, what are they doing different to all other chipys?

Cyberevo

iTrader: (1)

Thanks to everyone for their advice. The quality side is where I would come from, a clean fresh chippy with polite smart staff. If I pay an extra 50-60p per hours then so be it.

wwp8, thanks for all the advice, however once you've have asian you'll never want Caucasian... ;-) (i know what you mean though, it's a sad fact of life)...

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

I can't stress enough that your venture will depend almost entirely on the quality of your cooking... changing / cleaning the oil to keep a FRESH taste will be essential... We travel across to the far side of Derby to go to the Stenson chippy and there are ALWAYS queues there - the quality of food, the size of the portions and the clear pride in the product REALLY shows.

If you can get the right place and have the right attitude, you'll be on to a winner.

Good Luck!

blueone

One good thing about having your own chipshop, all that free fuel you can run a diesel car on.

Nicks VR4

My guess is that the fat in the sausage causes the batter to change

Mmmm Sausage in batter dont do that were I have just moved to up north
Chippy 30 yards away from me
Does do sausages so might have to ask him to stick it in batter for me one day

Oh a there pies are naff due to being left in the warmer and my guess is for days all dryed out

Chip

Yeah, its always the people that are purported to have the least money that spend the most in chippys, fast food etc.

Chip

Chip

Chinese use a different oil which cooks at a lower temperature. Higher the temp the crispier the batter.

Best oil to use for taste , crispiness and dryness of finished chips etc is Groundnut oil. It cost more to buy in but gives a much better quality product which is what people want.

Put your staff in uniform as well and have their hygeine certs on display. Keep shop scrupiously clean at all times.

Chip

turboman786

May well be true for a chippy, but not being caucasian isnt a problem with curries!! I have close ties to takeaways in areas where ethnic minorties are just that..in fact almost non-existent (yes there are such places!), and they have done pretty well...

Cyberevo

iTrader: (1)

How bizzare, I used to live in Derby on the Heatherton estate and the local chippy wa pants and we too used to go all the way to Stenson Chipps, their large chips could feed a family of 3. Best chips I've ever tasted. I used to say to my wife that the heatherton one was a goldmine and someone could really turn it around, now someone else has taken over and the business has really picked up.

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

Even more bizarre - we're going around Heatherton this afternoon to look for a new house!

Oh, the chippy really has improved - we get some from there once in a while now as well

P1Fanatic

It is suprising the difference between good and bad fish & chips. Nothing worse than overly greasy and soggy batter.

I would rather wait a few more minutes for fresh food than get it really fast and find out its dry and been sat in the shop for the last hour.

My parents live in cornwall and there is a tiny chippy down the road that makes lovely fish & chips. Same guy has been cooking since my parents moved there - some 12 years ago. Even to this day you can see he takes pride cooking the chips etc.

One thing I miss down south is no one sells 'scraps' i.e. all the bits of batter left over..mmmmmm.

Simon.

P.S. Been to harry ramsdens for takeaway once in reading - worst fish and chips Ive ever had.

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

HR cook their chips in a mix of Vege Oil and LARD!!!

EUGH!

Abdabz

Theres a few in St Helens raking it in - One just in the town centre is my favourite - but its really a chinese takeaway as much as a chippy. I've been stood there for 20 mins around tea time and seen appx £500 taken - just person after person picking up telephone order meals for families - plus the usual passing trade...
There's a few near the rugby ground that are queueing down the street on matchdays - and plenty in the area who are clean / well priced / plenty of choice that are raking it in.
Rainford supper bar has constant stream of trade all the hours its open...
So IMO a potentially great move - if you get the price, quality and variety right then to some extent a good location will simply be a bonus...
Good Luck

Chip

Dont know why some chippies seem to have trouble making a good batter.
I use SR flour, pinch of salt and beer. Works perfect every time.

Chip

wwp8

i have no idea,
if the look is quite smooth and looks different to the fish. maybe its the batter they use for chicken *****,
we use to do that ,when its late at night and we run out of fish batter,

give ya a big tip if the avoid buying pies from a chippy that is quiet,
its normally 1-2 days old,
if they are "pukka" pies peel the top crust off, if its hard and crunchy , then its 1 day old, if you look in the filling and the edges look dry then its 2 days old, if you poke it with your finger and theres not a single moisture on your finger then give it to your enemy,
a good pie, should be flaky like a fluffy sausage roll.

i use frymax fat.

[QUOTE=Abdabz]Theres a few in St Helens raking it in - One just in the town centre is my favourite - but its really a chinese takeaway as much as a chippy. I've been stood there for 20 mins around tea time and seen appx £500 taken - just person after person picking up telephone order meals for families - plus the usual passing trade...
QUOTE]

do you work for the customs excise


are you from lancashire?
the people there use, salt sr flour and vinegar

btw look for one with housing estate, school not that crucial, as my last 2 were near school, it was crap at the holidays.
avoid towncentres, after your daytime, theres nowt evening trade,
fair enough you might make your evenings worth at daytime though.

i have found out 2 things, near schools, kids don't get much for supper (parents are tight.... you know who you are)
they would probably spent 70% on sweets.

1, if near schools, should try some specials,ie kids meal (combi meal)
2, don't bother with those stupid toys/boxes(ie mcDs happy meal) they are ****e

3, if near houses avoid cheapo meals, as they go for those, more often than proper large chips and sausages etc.

Chip

Groundnut I found best.

And No I'm from Wales.

Chip

wwp8

and people in west yorks use beef dripping,
i wonder what they taste like,
with home made batter.

Cyberevo

iTrader: (1)

Kieran,

It's a nice estate to live on, I live on the same road as the pub and near the shops it was very handy. There are still loads of Derby footballers on the estate and prices seem to be quite high. My sister still lives there so we pop up every couple of months.