Magic Mike’s

Mike’s Famous Fish & Chips in Blackburn, Aberdeenshire, combines modern front-of-house elements with a traditional ethos back-of-house and features one of the most diverse menus in the area

Mike’s Famous Fish & Chips has two outlets and they couldn’t be more chalk and cheese. The original shop, in Mugiemoss Road in Aberdeen, has become an institution since it was opened four and a half decades ago by founder Mike Brown. 

The takeaway continues to serve the same menu it offered when it first opened, attracting a loyal customer base – some of whom visit three or four times a week. Trade remains consistent week in, week out, with fluctuations of only a few hundred pounds. It’s predictable and straightforward.

In contrast, its newest site, opened in Blackburn by Mike’s son Liam Brown in 2022, is a purpose-built 18,000-square-foot outlet that functions as a diner, takeaway, and delivery. This expansion was made possible by a profitable operation during the Covid pandemic: the Mugiemoss Road shop sustained high delivery volumes during Scotland’s strict lockdowns which, combined with the temporary VAT reduction to 5%, enabled the business to accumulate the necessary funds for growth.

“Covid changed the dynamic for us all,” says Liam. “The unpredictability of it made me realise that anything can happen at any moment and stop someone from carrying out their dreams. The site at Blackburn was initially a plan and a project I had in my head for when I turned 40, but Covid changed that and I managed to get the project on its feet by the time I was 30.”

Reshuffled

In developing the site, which is located along the busy A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road, Liam took the best and the worst bits of the Mugiemoss branch and, with the help of an architect, redesigned and reshuffled everything. 

“We’ve created a purpose-built fish and chip shop that’s got the maximum amount of space that you can have and want,” says Liam. “For example, we’ve got a high efficiency, electric island range so when someone is frying they don’t have anybody bumping into them. They don’t have anything to worry about on their left or their right. As a counter assistant, you’ve got everything that you need right in front of you. So everything has been designed and laid out to make life easier.”

While the restaurant space is bright and modern with floor-to-ceiling windows and the extraction on show, back-of-house it’s a slightly different story, with Liam keen to keep more of a traditional approach. 

“I wanted to go down the road of not putting in a dishwasher at the back so that the staff have to do dishes and not putting in touch screen tills so that the team can still learn to handle money and cash count in their head. Okay, a dishwasher would help, but at the same time, I learned a lot and gained a great work ethic through being in the back pot washing.”

Unlike its Aberdeen counterpart, the Blackburn site has a wide-ranging menu, so much so that Liam believes it is among the top five most diverse menus in Scotland. It offers everything from loaded fries, hot dogs and pizza to chicken, vegan fish and burgers, while a dedicated gluten free pan on its frying range caters purely for coeliacs. 

“We do everything and I mean everything, but none of it is rubbish,” says Liam. “It’s all top quality: it’s the best pork for doing pulled pork loaded fries, and it’s the best minced beef for the homemade chillies. I buy the best fish from the market. I’m very picky and choosy with who I use. I’ve had three fish suppliers already in two years because my other two didn’t hit the height that I wanted from them as a merchant.”

One recent addition to the menu is desserts in the way of doughnuts. These provide an easy-to-serve option that completes the meal and boosts the bottom line by increasing average spend. Served with sauces and sold at £6, the doughnuts are cooked in a pan that was initially reserved for vegan food but was repurposed when it didn’t prove popular. Milkshakes, priced at £4.75 each, are another new and profitable addition to the menu.

“I operated the doughnuts for about seven to eight weeks and then decided I needed something to accompany them,” says Liam. “I did think ice cream at first, but then I thought milkshakes. We use Porelli Italian gelato and incorporate 400ml of milk, mix it with a Ninja to make the classic shake, then add cream, sprinkles and a cherry.”

Not only do these additions expand the menu for customers, but they also create opportunities to take on more staff and give them greater responsibilities. “I don’t think teenagers get enough credit for their capabilities,” says Liam. “They’re not silly people. The teenagers I’ve been hiring are fantastic. They’ve been working well. The 18-19 year olds have been cooking the doughnuts perfectly and making the milkshakes even better than I can.”

Trade patterns

Constantly evaluating his trade, Liam keeps a record book that he refers to each day, comparing trade for the week, month and even year before, helping him predict trade patterns before they happen. “It’s a great way to ensure we are maintaining the status quo or to see what we might be in for,” says Liam. 

In doing this, Liam noticed that while Blackburn was attracting customers 20 years either side of his age, not many OAPs were coming in compared to other fish and chip shops in his area.

“I wasn’t sure if they may be intimidated by the ultra modern-ness of Blackburn because so many people like that traditional feel. It’s what they are used to, it’s what they’ve been brought up with.”

To give customers of his target age bracket an incentive to come in the door, Liam put on an offer: two courses – a soup and a main – a pot of tea and bread and butter for £9.99. 

“I couldn’t see anyone around me doing a better offer than that,” says Liam. “We had a great response with a lot of OAPs coming to us for the first time. Some didn’t even know the place was here. They were delighted, knowing that they were getting value for money and we’ve seen a lot of them come back again since, so it was a promotion that worked for us.”

With business getting harder and more time being spent on promotions and marketing to keep customers coming in the door, Liam is hoping the new government will signal change and bring business owners like himself some much welcome relief. 

“The new government has got a lot to do. They need to pull their socks up and help small businesses. A cut in VAT would definitely help right now. I think dropping to 15% would be fair – 5% would make a huge difference. I’ve heard a lot of other operators call for 17.5% but I still think that 2.5% is not enough, that only covers the existing rising costs that fish and chip shops are having, specifically in potatoes and fish.”

Whether he—and the thousands of other fish and chip shop owners calling for the same action—will see their demand met remains to be seen.