A well-known Campbeltown chip shop family is back in the frying business.
Ian Brown, 50, whose dad Robert ran a fish and chip business in the town for more than 40 years, has now opened his own venture.
Ian, who has had the nickname Chip since he was about 10 because of his father’s line of work, opened The Chip off the Old Block on Saddell Street on Thursday.
He said he was overwhelmed by the success of his opening weekend, which came just in time for Easter.
Ian added: "It was bonkers. From when we opened the door at 5pm on Thursday until we closed after 9pm, it was non-stop – and it was the same on Friday and Saturday too.
“I’m very pleased with the way local people and holidaymakers supported us; I’m actually overwhelmed.
“I had a bit of a panic about what to buy, worrying if we’d have enough of everything, but we got to 9pm on Saturday night before we started running out of one or two things so I think we did fine.”
Ian was also well-supported by family and friends who helped him out during the launch of his new business.
He explained: "There were eight people working in the shop at one point, between the front, mid and rear kitchens. Everyone pulled out all the stops, we would never have managed it without such a good team.”
For the time being, while Ian juggles his other business as a coal and scrap metal merchant, the shop will only be open on Thursdays and Fridays from 5pm-9pm and on Saturdays from 5pm-8pm.
Ian has brought back to life one of Campbeltown’s oldest shops, with the premises previously serving as a chippie for decades, although it lay empty for more than 10 years. It is probably best known to Campbeltonians as Glundy’s fish and chip shop, but was most recently called The Plaice For Taste.
Ian said his decision to venture into the chip shop industry is his first step towards retirement.
He laughed: “I’m getting older and I’m not going to be able to keep up with scrap or carry coal forever. This place was empty and someone had to take it over or it was going to fall to the ground.
“I was quite emotional when I walked out of my dad’s shop for the last time and I realised there would be an opening for another fish and chip shop. That’s when the wee spark went off in my head and the whole idea was born.”
Ian’s dad Robert, 77, kicked off his own frying career in 1977, when he bought a chip van, a photograph of which is proudly displayed in The Chip off the Old Block today.
After 11 years in the van, Robert bought a shop on Shore Street, from which he retired in 2019, selling the premises to a family who turned it into a Chinese takeaway.
With no plans to sell fish and chips, the new owners offered to sell Robert’s frying range back to him and, although he declined, Ian decided to buy them.
After opening his own chip shop, the fryers which are now back up and running in Saddell Street.
He said there have been “a lot of late nights” refurbishing the premises and getting it ready for opening and he isn’t sure yet how many staff will be needed as the business finds its feet.
Ian added: “I’ll owe a lot of people a lot of favours as everyone is just voluntary at the moment.
“I would like to thank everyone for their support. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go but we have pulled it off.”
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