Latest news with #EvansPlaice
BBC News
28-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Fish and chips for 20p? The Powys chip shop menu frozen in time
For more than half a century, a chip shop's forgotten price board gathered dust in a household when it was unearthed by Andrew Lewis, the third-generation owner of the family-run restaurant, he described it as being like "something from another age".And with a portion of cod and "chipped potatoes" listed for a mere 20p - compared to today's average of nearly £10 - certainly the prices were from a different Evans Plaice, one of Wales' oldest family-run fish and chip shops, has put the board on display to serve as a reminder of days gone by. "I was clearing out a garage where my grandfather kept a lot of stuff and I found it lying there," said Mr Lewis."People are fascinated by it. It's like something from another age and it's great that it has survived."But plenty of people have been asking if they can have their chips for the old price." The chip shop, in Rhayader, Powys, was first opened as Halten Restaurant in 1950 by Mr Lewis' grandparents, Edgar and Megan passed to his uncle and auntie before Mr Lewis, eager to keep the business in the family, took it over in menu board is believed to date back to about 1971 when the British currency system was decimalised to the current system in place the likes of peach melba to follow a fish supper, served with a slice of bread and butter and washed down with a cup of tea, diners back then could enjoy a two-course meal for 45p. "Anyone driving between north and south Wales will have passed us and it's a popular stopping point because everyone is usually hungry by the time they get to Rhayader... or needs the toilet," said Mr Lewis."We own a couple of businesses but the fish and chip shop is a real sentimental place for me because it's part of the town's past and my family's history. All the kids have spent some time working in there, either chipping, frying or serving."The old menu serves as a reminder of the staggering rise in food prices not only over the decades, but in recent and chips saw the biggest price increase among some of the UK's most popular takeaways in the five years up to July 2024, according to ONS average price for a portion of fish and chips rose by more than 50% to nearly £10, while the cost of a kebab went up 44% and pizza 30%. Earlier this year, one chip shop made headlines when it apologised to customers for putting up the price of a large cod to £ owners have cited a "perfect storm" of costs, including soaring energy bills, tariffs on seafood imports and extreme weather hammering potato Lewis said: "It's amazing to think it was just 20p for fish and chips. What can you buy for 20p these days? Perhaps the bag they come in!"Costs have steadily gone up but especially in the last few years because of the Ukraine war. Then there's staffing costs as well as the environmental impact so there are many things that are simply out of our control. "We've had to put prices up two or three times in recent years which we hate doing [fish and chips now cost £10.70]. But what can you do?" 'Firm place in people's hearts' A family of four may not get much change from £50 once they have added mushy peas or curry sauce, but fish and chips remains a British family favourite, whether enjoyed around the table on a Friday night or out of the paper on a beach."We have diversified over the years with other items but fish and chips still has that firm place in people's hearts," said Mr Lewis, whose chip shop is marking its 75th anniversary."The price has gone up a lot, especially when you look at that board, but so has everything else and fish and chips is still as popular as ever, 100 per cent."And I love working in there. You're frying right there in front of people and chatting to all the customers. It's great."Running a business is difficult these days and has been for years but you have to try and keep going, especially because the shop means so much to us."
Powys County Times
31-05-2025
- Business
- Powys County Times
Rhayader chip shop discovers original 1950s menu board
A STROLL to the chippy for Rhayader residents of a certain age may now seem like wondering down memory lane, after the owners uncovered the original menu board from when the shop first opened 75 years ago. Evans Plaice marks being a fixture of Rhayader's high street for three quarters of a century this year, and is now being run by the third generation of the same family. Located on North Street, Evans Plaice is a traditional fish 'n' chip shop that sells all the classics, as well as Celtic pies, homemade Pizzas, burgers and Southern Fried Chicken. It also now boasts an ice cream parlour, serving Mario's ice cream. However, its roots can be traced back to 1950, when it opened as the Halton Fish Restaurant. And, to mark being open in town for 75 years in 2025, the original menu board has been found and is now on display in the shop 'We're proud to now have on display the original menu board from when the business first opened as Halton Restaurant 75 years ago,' read a post on the chip shop's Facebook page earlier this month.' The old board screams nostalgia and has not been touched, with the original blue paint on the wood board flaking off. RECOMMENDED READING: Back 75 years ago, customers could purchase many classics that still exist today, like cod or plaice, as well as sausage, chicken and steak and kidney pie. Chips were originally labelled as 'chipped potatoes', and while the Halton Fish Restaurant originally offered chipped potatoes with some staples that still exist today, other original items have disappeared from traditional chippy menu boards – such as sausage or bacon with egg; just egg and chipped potatoes, or cold ham and chipped potatoes. Cold ham and chips was the most expensive item on the menu in 1950, at just 39 pence – although in 2025 that equates to £17.08p. The Rhayader shop did, surprisingly perhaps, have a steak burger on the menu back then, at 20p (£8.76p), the same price as cod or plaice. The cheapest thing on the main 1950s menu was egg and chips for 18p (£7.88p). The Halton Restaurant also sold separate portions of peas and beans for 5p and 6p (£2.19p and £2.63p) respectively, as well as bread and butter for 4p (£1.75p). Fruit salad, fruit sundae, peach melba and ice cream were all available back then on the sweets menu too, from between 7½p to 17p (£3.07p to £7.44p); while drinks sold were water, Coca Cola and tea or coffee, with Coke the most expensive at 7½p. Somewhere along the way, the Halton Restaurant became Evans Plaice, and the chip shop is today owned by Andrew Lewis as part of the Croeso Grwp, a collection of family-run businesses which includes the Tŷ Morgans café, restaurant and bar, the Crown Inn and Lamb & Flag pubs, while it also re-opened Ty Penbont (the old Penbont House tea room) in the Elan Valley in late March/early April. 'The original shop was called Halton Fish Restaurant and opened by Megan and Edgar Evans,' said Evans Plaice. 'The business was then handed over to Andrew's aunty Eunice and uncle Lyn and then onto Andrew, as it is today, as the third generation of owner, marking 75 years in the same family and in the same building.'
