Mother Hubbard’s, which describes itself as “Britain’s largest fish and chips franchise”, opened the doors to its newest branch in High Road on Saturday (June 28).
Chris Farnell, head chef at Mother Hubbard’s, is tasked with helping to set up new franchises and train staff.
He brought staff down from Bradford to operate the opening day of the new branch.
“The wait time was around 45 minutes which was pretty good and everything was selling.
“The feedback was unbelievable – it was a really good turnout.
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“I thought with the weather being so warm that people might not queue, but people turned up and queued and it was a great day.”
Chris also said the Mother Hubbard’s mascot, which was handing out free water to queueing customers, was a hit with children.
The chain was established in Bradford in 1972, and the first restaurant was opened by Coronation Street characters Stan and Hilda Ogden.
Chris previously told this paper that Mother Hubbard’s has a “bespoke batter” that cannot be bought elsewhere.
“It’s the same with our curry sauce, mushy peas, gravy – everything is our brand and exclusive to us,” he said.
He said that everything was tried on the menu on Saturday and the grilled fish and salt and pepper ranges sold particularly well.
“We had some really big orders,” he said.
“We had one for 10 jumbos and a jumbo is a 32 ounce fish which comes in a 12 inch pizza box and serves a family of four.”
The shop is decorated with old pictures of the local area with some dating back to 1921.
“It was tiring and we were glad when last orders came in but they (the team) handled it very well,” Chris added.
“It was a very successful day overall.”
