New face at Spalding fish and chip shop
A popular Spalding fish and chip shop is under new management and is not only offering a delivery service, but is also serving up a breakfast menu.
Well-known restaurant owner John Phoenix and his team have taken over Domenics in Little London, not only keeping the shop doing what it does best, but also saving jobs.
John, who runs Smalldean Trading Ltd with wife Fliss and managing director David Blaxter, took over the fish and chip shop in December after working for nearly two months alongside premises' owner Eric Ragale and his wife Jo, who have owned the shop since 1993.
John and his team had to have a re-think after they were forced to close the restaurant they have run at the Castle Sports Complex in Spalding for the past two-and-a-half years due to the pandemic.
The fully licensed restaurant offered a wide ranging menu and employed four other staff members. It offered a meals on wheels service for much of last year, but had to let that go to another restaurant when the sports complex closed and they no longer had access to the kitchens.
John said the fish and chip shop has enabled them to keep on the four staff and they are offering a limited menu compared to the restaurant making life easier. They are also offering a delivery service with the announcement of the latest lockdown, and are launching a breakfast menu, from 7.30am to 10am Monday to Friday which not only includes things like bacon butties and sausage baps, but also a full English take-away breakfast.
He said: "Taking over the lease on Domenics is an exciting new venture for us, we are going to carry on offering traditional fish and chips, as well as now offering deliveries and a breakfast service and we look forward to serving regular customers and meeting new ones."
Eric, who together with Jo stepped back from the shop after running it for 17 years,explained for the past number of years the business has been run by a number of tenants. But the most recent tenant left when covid struck.
He said: "Me and my wife Jo decided to go back in and get the ball rolling again. We started back at the beginning of July opening on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and have built it up again.
"John was looking for a new venture and came to work with us for a couple of months before deciding to take it on. He is well-known and has a track record of working with food, so we are delighted.
"I had a number of people interested including someone who wanted to turn it into a Chinese and another who wanted to serve Indian food, but no disrespect to them, I wanted it to remain a traditional fish and chip. It has been that since 1981, and has continued to be one since we bought it in 1993."
