By Isle of Wight Observer
There is a ray of Hope on the horizon, for Harrison Booth and the Codfather, following the devastating fire which destroyed his fish and chip shop, on Ryde Esplanade, at the end of May.
Harrison has opened a ‘pop-up’ chippie at the Sunrise Hotel, in Hope Road, Shanklin, as he waits for his family business to be rebuilt following the damage.
Harrison, who took over from his father in 2019, said: “Personally, the fire has hit me quite badly. I’m not used to doing nothing, but the Codfather can’t open until it has been completely refurbished. It could be anything between three and six months, so it may be early 2027.”
He has been given the opportunity to work from a kitchen in the Sunrise Hotel, by his friend, Steve Bridgeman, its owner, with Harrison saying: “We got to know each other through rugby; Steve is a referee and I’m a coach. He said he had a kitchen in the hotel which wasn’t being used, so it’s ideal. We’ve had to beg, borrow and steal equipment over the last few weeks to get the kitchen fitted out and it’s been a lot of hard work, but we’re now ready to open.
“Obviously, I want to get back working again, but this isn’t just about me. Over the years, we have encouraged young kids, who might be off to university, to get trained up in the winter and ready to work in the summer to earn some money.
“These are all good kids, and we want to give them a chance. They are ready to work for us and have now missed the chance to work elsewhere because the summer part-time jobs have been filled. So we’re hoping to give them the chance to get started.”
The new fish and chip shop opened last evening (Thursday) and Harrison is planning to open seven-days-a-week, between 4pm-8pm. As well as serving takeaways, there is space to eat on the premises with outstanding sea views and he also plans to do takeaways locally to Shanklin, Sandown, Lake and Bembridge.
He added: “I’m hoping a few of my regular customers will come over and support me, and we are also able to serve beer on draught because we have beer taps. This has been a real challenge, but I’ve been supported by Steve and my manager, Jaz Dale. Without her help, I couldn’t have done it; she has been unreal. I can’t describe how much she has done.”
