A Nottingham fish and chip takeaway attracted hundreds of music fans after hosting a one-night rave.
Between 800 and 1,000 people reportedly turned up for the pop-up event at Lace Market Fish & Chips to see local grime and garage MC Window Kid and British DJ Nathan Dawe.
A regular customer at the chip shop, Window Kid had the connections to draw in a big crowd, but no one predicted the massive turnout, including the takeaway’s owner Bas Alia.
Initially, 30 free tickets were given away, a figure that was soon dwarfed by the crowd that gathered outside. “I knew Window Kid had a lot of followers so I knew it would be busy but honestly, it was incredible – about 800 to 1000 people showed up,” said Bas. “It was a massive crowd, but everyone was fantastic, there was no trouble at all; everything went perfectly.”
With the video footage of the rave going viral on social media, Bas has seen a surge in interest from local news outlets and radio stations. This has boosted the shop’s visibility, making Lace Market Fish & Chips a trending name among Nottingham’s younger demographic, a group Bas acknowledges isn’t often seen at traditional fish and chip shops.
“Younger people tend to go for bigger chains, but this event has made them take notice of us,” Bas said. “The college nearby is buzzing about it and I’m getting messages from students saying, ‘It’s great, we’ll come here’.”
Although the event didn’t bring in any direct revenue on the evening, Bas is optimistic about the long-term impact. “I didn’t make any money on the night but it wasn’t about that. I do think this weekend and in the future it will increase our sales because so many more people know about us now,” he said, noting how difficult things have been for small businesses post-Covid.
For Bas, it’s the goodwill and new clientele that matter. “We’ve had a good name for 15 years, we work hard and this has just made everything a bit better.”