A family-run fish and chip restaurant established 35 years ago in Dundee is to close.
The owners of The Popular in the city centre, run by three generations of the same family, say the decision was taken as the business is no longer profitable.
The family believe the cost of living crisis has forced customers away and say record inflation has left costs unaffordable.
Family discussed taking fish off menu
Gaynor Wemyss’ grandparents, Peter and Anna Craig, opened the shop in 1987 and she now helps to manage the business with her parents, Angela and Graham Forbes.
Gaynor said things got so drastic they even considered taking fish off the menu at the St Andrews Street eatery due to spiralling costs of the product.
“It’s horrendous, I don’t think it has quite sunk in yet,” she told The Courier.
“I feel like we’ve tried everything to make it work but nothing has had a big enough impact.
“We put out great food and we know that but what more can we do?
“Everything is just unaffordable. Fish and beef dripping prices, for example, are too expensive for us to make a profit.
“We considered using vegetable oil, which is cheaper, but we’re proud of the way we’ve always cooked our food.”
‘Use it or lose it’ plea to customers
Gaynor says the cooking fat, which gives chips extra flavour, now costs up to £300 every few weeks – a rise of about 40% in just three months.
They replace the fat frequently to ensure cooked food is as fresh as possible – adding to the cost.
The owners had put out an appeal on social media urging locals to “use it or lose it”, while stating conditions are the “hardest in 30-plus years of business”.
A week later, though, the decision has been taken by all four to close the shop.
Gaynor, whose brother Lindsay Forbes cooks the food, says a lack of footfall in the Wellgate end of the city centre has also contributed to the problems.
She said: “We did well after Covid initially but it just hasn’t kept up.
“Nobody is coming into town, particularly the area we are in.
“We have tried opening later as well as starting deliveries through local firm Ecoeats, something we’d never needed to do previously.
“But although those helped a little, it just hasn’t been enough.”
The restaurant, which has been up for sale for a number of years, will now shut on July 30.
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