The long chippy queue that has led regulars to become friends

Queue Up-ton!

The long chippy queue that has led regulars to become friends

Ahungry group of friends met queuing up at the same fish and chip shop and say there is nowhere better to get a chippy tea - having been regulars for decades.

Upton Fish Shop, in Upton, near Gainsborough, has been open since 1948 and has been using the same fish batter recipe that was first devised by its founder Mrs Logndon since it had opened. It’s one of the only coal-fired fish and chip shops in the country and is famous for its long queues, particularly in the summer, because people cannot get enough of its traditional cooking methods.

Sally Clarke, 48, co-owner of the fish shop said: “From day one we have been keeping it the same. We’ve not changed anything, except from introducing curry sauce. We have a lot of regulars, but they’re not all local. People come from all over. Some from Retford, Scunthorpe, Gainsborough and Lincoln. You couldn’t do it from people just from Upton.”

“They spend an hour out there each week and have got to know each other quite well.” She added

The regulars even had a Christmas party this year and have got to know each other over the decades queuing outside the fish shop each week.

“The coal fire makes all the difference,” said Mick Goulding, 65, from Retford. Mick has been queuing outside the chippy every Friday for 30 years. Others have been for longer. “It’s down to the fire,” he continued. “It’s the batter recipe. Some batter recipes makes it go all watery, but this one doesn’t. It goes back to the days of Mrs Longdon. You still get the scraps with it as well. Don’t go in there expecting a wide range of choices.”

One punter chimed in: “It’s fish and chips or it’s chips and fish.”

Do your customers go out together? Email austen@chippychat.co.uk