BIG INTERVIEW: STILL FRYING AFTER 50 YEARS

Mike Konstandi reflects on half a century of family, food and community at his Nottingham chippy, Georgio’s in Sneinton 

How did Georgio’s first come about?

I came over to the UK in 1975 from Cyprus with my mum, dad and four sisters. I was only six years old and Mum and Dad didn’t have a penny to their name. They literally came with only their clothes to escape the war in Cyprus. My uncle was already over here and he was established in the fish and chip shop trade. He bought the building where the shop is now – it used to be a laundrette – changed it into a fish and chip shop and loaned it to Mum and Dad. Over the years, they paid my uncle off and eventually it was ours.

What was the shop like in its early days?

I’ve got an old photo of Dad standing outside the door, which used to be in the middle of the shop back then. We’ve had a couple of refurbishments over the years and made some changes. However, the shop itself was basic at the time: it offered fish, chips, sausages and pies. Growing up in the business, I’ve seen the menu slowly change. We used to do one size of sausages, then two. We did plain sausages and then battered sausages. We went from just chips to chip cobs, then kebabs got introduced, as did jacket potatoes, southern fried chicken and pizzas. We’ve had to move with the times to survive and I truly believe a basic fish and chip shop is no more. Everything has got a lot more professional too. I remember customers bringing in their own newspapers and handing them to Dad to wrap fish and chips in. Now we’re serving our food in branded boxes which are better for portion control, better for the product and better for the environment. 

Is the business still in the same hands? 

Sadly things have changed 50 years down the line. Mum passed away six years ago and 26 years ago I lost my dad. He never wanted to give up working, he was a grafter. He retired at 70, but I say retired, he was coming to the shop every day doing all the prep work and setting everything up, going home and still coming back in the evening. He worked to his very last day. When he passed away, I refurbished the shop and renamed it Georgio’s after him. Initially, the shop was called The Dale Fish and Chips after the road it is on. When we first opened in 1975, Mum and Dad held a competition to name the shop. Customers put a name in a pot, and the one that was picked got free fish and chips for a year. I took over the business five years before Dad retired so, yes, it’s been in the same family for 50 years, which we’re very proud of. 

What is the secret to your longevity?

Being part of the community for sure. I grew up in the area, I went to the local schools, I’ve gone out drinking with a lot of these people, I’ve played football with them – and against them! Also, for the past seven to eight years, we’ve been running weekly competitions and giving away free meals as prizes. We’ve given away well over 1,000 meals in that time, but it’s our way of giving back and saying thank you to our community. Plus, this is all I know so I live and breathe it. I’ll go home at the end of a shift or on holiday and my mind is still at work, thinking, what can we do next? How can we improve? I’m always listening to others because there’s always something to learn.

What has been the biggest challenge to your business in its 50 years?

It’s the last couple of years I would say with rising prices. It’s been horrendous. The prices of gas, electricity and water have tripled, likewise with potatoes and fish. We get an email every three months saying something’s going up. Then there’s wages, National Insurance and business rates. I don’t know how businesses are going to survive. We’ve put our prices up, but I wouldn’t say we have put them up enough. We’re taking a hit because we’re part of the community and we want to try and help. We do Super Saver menus to bring customers in, in the school holidays we’ll do kids meals for £1.99, and we’ve got a £1.99 saver menu offering chip cobs, chips and a fishcake, chips and sausage, chips and nuggets. We’re not making a great deal, but we’re hoping when customers come in and spend £1.99 they might buy a bottle of pop or sauce or something to top that £1.99 up. What does work in our favour is the fact our menu isn’t just basic fish and chips. It means instead of a customer coming in once or twice a week for fish and chips, they can come in maybe three or four times whether it’s for pizza or a kebab or someone in the family wants a jacket potato. We’re really trying to accommodate everybody these days. 

Where do you think the biggest opportunity lies for fish and chip shops?

Definitely chicken. We’re looking at grilled chicken at the moment with a view to introducing it to the menu after the summer. There’s a demand for it where I think people are eating a bit more healthily than they used to. 

What’s your highlight of 50 years in business?

Apart from all the charity work we’ve done – we’ve been on TV twice with Children in Need – the biggest thing for me is the 50 years coming up. We’re proud to still be here after 50 years, and I just hope Mum and Dad are looking down on us because it’s for them. The other thing that puts a smile on my face is seeing the older generation that I knew as a child coming in and telling me how my dad used to be at work and telling us stories from the old times. I love that.

How are you celebrating 50 years in business?

My daughter is preparing a big event at the shop for the 28th July around the theme of 50 years. She is doing a Masters in Marketing so she’s taken over all our social media – TikTok and Facebook – and is organising a family fun day with an ice cream van, games for the children and face painting. In the shop, the first 50 individual customers will get free fish and chips and after that it will be 75p, which is the price of fish and chips when we first opened. We’re also going to strip the menu right back for the day and offer chips, sausages, pies, sauces and kebabs at 50% off. At the same time, we’re donating part of the takings to local charities so we are going to get customers to nominate charities, and then we’ll pick one where the money will go.

What does the future look like for you and Georgio’s?

As long as I’ve got my health, I will be here! I think I’ve got my dad’s genes and I’m scared of stopping work. And I enjoy my work. I enjoy cooking and showing my food off. I’m proud of my food, and I like interacting with customers. I get a buzz from it still.