WHEN having a stroll through a tourist town like Keswick, there’s nothing quite like the scent of fish and chips waving its way into your nostrils.
If that sounds like a vaguely familiar scent, perhaps you’ve walked down the town’s Main Street and past the renowned chippy hotspot, The Kingfisher.
When it comes to highly rated chippies in Allerdale, the Kingfisher is up there with the best of them – offering both take-away and dine in options.
Twin Brothers, Steve and Andrew Clark, have been running the business for twelve years and are resilient in their efforts to keep pushing through when the going gets tough.
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"During Covid, we reopened as takeaway only on May 21 and by May 22, we had a fire, so it was a bit of a double whammy really,” Steve said.
Despite this, the brothers are glad of their situation by continuing a family tradition of feeding Keswick mouths; their father previously owned Michael’s Butcher in the town centre for many years.
"With no holiday’s abroad last year, Keswick’s never been busier.
"The restaurant took a while to get back to how it should be but it’s coming back now but the takeaway really has gone onto another level in the last 18 months,” he said.
Steve brings the experience he gained from working with his father to the business and offers homemade Cumberland sausage, which has proven to be a best-seller for the restaurant.
Like many in the fish frying industry, soaring costs have affected the business - especially when it comes to oil prices.
"It’s horrendous, oil has gone up from £10.60 for 10 kilo buckets to now over £18, it’s nearly doubled in price and fish has doubled in price if not more.
"It’s hard work being your own boss, we clock in at half past five every morning and most of the time it’s half nine by the time we get home.
"That’s the downside of it but the plus is it’s a responsibility, you have control and it just means you must do everything to the best of your ability, you get out of life whatever you put into it," he said.
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