Bank backs bid to revive village chippy

Formerly known as the Kyme Road Chippy, the chip shop has been in the centre of the village for the past 40 years.

It has been purchased by husband-and-wife team Chris and Loreta Matson and renamed Kippers.

The couple saw that the site had potential and were inspired by the popularity of a weekly fish and chip night held at Chris’ mother Sylvia’s café, also located in the village.

Keeping in the family catering tradition, Chris’s grandparents Inga and Jim Pratt have owned and run a bed and breakfast on the main street in the village for many years.

Having started a family Chris and Loreta were keen to locate closer to his parents. They jumped at the chance to own the chippy and couldn’t wait to start redeveloping it.

The Matsons decided to approach Paul Barley, Relationship Manager at NatWest for a loan to help with the cost of purchasing the premises. The couple has also invested in brand new equipment including fridges, freezers, peelers, chippers and a state-of-art oil filtration machine.

After months of work, the shop has just re-opened creating at least two new jobs locally.

Chris said: “Our goal is to keep the menu strictly to the items that you would expect in a fish and chip shop. We’re limiting the menu to the basics so we can concentrate on keeping everything traditional and fresh.”

Where possible they source products locally and ethically.

He added: “It was great working with Paul and we’re grateful to NatWest for their help. When we first looked into this venture, Paul was the only person who agreed to back us and since then, everything has gone extremely smoothly.”

Paul added: “The shop has been closed since December and I know the local community is very excited about the re-opening. We wish Chris and Loreta every success with their new venture.”