'Beloved' West Midlands chip shop bounced back after 'agonising' time
The owners revealed they were facing closure and had to make a drastic decision
An award-winning West Midlands fish and chip shop which attracts Brummies each week has revealed it came close to closure. After staying open during an 'agonising' time in Covid and the first few years after the pandemic, the family-run business now receives national awards year after year.
This year, Fiddlers Elbow Fish & Chip Shop was one of only two West Midlands chippies to make Fry Magazine's Top 50 Takeaways. The Herefordshire chip shop is located in Leintwardine, a small village close to the Shropshire border.
Since 2013, Fiddlers Elbow has been under the ownership of partners Dominic Eusden and Linzi Morris. Speaking to BirminghamLive, Dominic revealed that the shop was close to closing and had to make a difficult decision.
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He said: "During the pandemic, it was agonising. We were up until four in the morning contemplating whether we were going to close. If we stayed open, we wondered if we would have the funds available to carry us. We worked out that if we closed, we would never have re-opened.
"Overnight, we completely changed. We invested what last of the savings we had into new equipment and changed so we could do online orders and deliveries. I don't think we're as busy as we were before the pandemic. But we take each day as it comes and we're thankful for the customers."
Since the pandemic, Fiddlers Elbow Fish & Chips has become known as one of the best chip shops in the region. The village chippy received a gold seal from the Good Food Award in 2024.
In the same year, Fiddlers Elbow made the top 10 in the Field to Fryer category at the National Fish and Chip Awards. This is an award dedicated exclusively for chips, with the preparation and handling of potatoes taken into account.
If you're willing to make the drive to Leintwardine, a regular portion of cod and chips will cost £11.85. Speaking about the price, Dominic admitted it might seem expensive, but argued about the additional costs that business owners face.
He said: "Most people will probably think that's expensive. But when you take the vat and cost of products, there's not much margin in fish and chips as people might perceive.
"We're all in the same boat, customers and businesses, and we know that the cost of everything is going up. We try to be mindful of people's budgets.
"On the other hand, businesses are being hit with vat, national insurance rises and gas prices. We're getting squeezed more and more but we still need to make money to stay alive.
"We look towards the future and hopefully we can survive this cost of living crisis. Fish and chips have been going for over 160 years, survived two world wars and Covid. I'm sure it can survive a cost of living crisis."
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