E R I C ’ S F I S H A N D C H I PS
“Kids love our fish and chip restaurants” tiled walls – so there are familiar touches, but we want them to feel almost like they’re stand-alone restaurants. We didn’t just repeat everything like some big chain.” As well as adapting the look and feel of the restaurant, another challenge has been appealing to a different clientele. In Thornham, the majority of customers are on holiday or popping in for a treat, whereas the St Ives site is serving busy workers on lunch breaks and families from the area nipping in for takeaways. “I think the biggest thing is people understanding what we are,” Eric muses. “In the first few weeks there were a lot of people just trying us in comparison to their usual fish and chips takeaway, but we’re getting to a point now where there are a lot more people coming in and using it as a sit-in dining experience as well. And that’s
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great – what’s always worked so well is that the kids love our fish and chip restaurants and all the little touches for them, but also the grandparents love it, because of the tradition. It’s a good place for all generations. Everybody’s happy with the offering – and that’s actually really unique.” With the Thornham outlet continuing to flourish and the new branches doing a roaring trade, is the ultimate goal to have an Eric’s on every high street? “I think we’ll sit tight for 18 months,” laughs Eric. “We want to concentrate on the operations of the business – to make
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sure the branches are running as well and as efficiently as they can. I’ve always thought there’s really good potential in it, but we need to see what’s right for us. We might just stick with the three. We might look to expand a lot quicker. But the plan for now is to consolidate for a year, see where we’re at. “I’ve always been tempted with Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds and Ely,” he adds, grinning. “We’ve nearly signed on a site in Norwich a couple of times as well, so we’ve definitely got an eye on the whole of East Anglia...” ericsfishandchips.com
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22/08/2019 16:01