Peterborough's long-established Parrotts Fish and Chip Shop announces closure

The owner of Parrotts Fish and Chips shop in Peterborough has spoken of her ‘devastation’ at having to close the long-established eatery.

The chippy in Cattle Market Road began trading nearly 40 years ago but a growing number of pressures over the last few years have brought its demise.

Owner Cathy Braithwaite, who bought the business with her son, Mike Bailey, in September 2022, says the combination of the rising cost of fish, potatoes and other products, falling footfall and high rents meant the business was no longer viable.

She said: “I am devastated at having to close and I am so sad the staff have lost their jobs.

"The business has always been difficult but also erratic and I thought things would pick up.

"We had a terrific couple of weeks before Christmas. January was very slow but I thought business would improve in February but it didn’t and I had to close the shop.”

Cathy, who was a former head teacher in Peterborough and is now back working in a city school, said: "It has been an adventure and an extraordinary three years. I don’t regret it except for the last few weeks.”

In a message on the shop’s Facebook page, she stated: “It is with huge sadness that I have to tell you that Parrotts Fish and Chips has had to close down.

"I am very sad for the lovely, hard working staff that we have and I am sad for all of our loyal customers. You will all be missed!”

Cathy bought the then Parrotts Fish Parlour at a time when industry was facing some tough challenges..

But Cathy said the pair were confident of overcoming the challenges ahead.

However, two months ago, Cathy told the Peterborough Telegraph that only the prospect of more custom from residents at the new 315 apartments Indigo complex around the corner in Northminister was helping to keep the business open.

She said: “They used to talk about things being as ‘cheap as chips’ – but that’s no longer true as chips are now very expensive.

“The residents in the Indigo apartments and others nearby will be a game changer for us. I think if the flats had not been built I might have looked at closing for good.”

But Cathy said the hoped for extra custom from the flats had been too little too late for the business.

She stated: “We had hoped that the new flats would improve things for us but in the end it just didn’t happen quickly enough.

She added: "It has been a struggle for a long time as, shortly after buying the business, the cost of living crisis hit us all and a few months later the footfall around us reduced drastically as the market, the passport office and Wilko’s went followed by other smaller shops.

"The rent we were paying was far too high for the semi-derelict area we found ourselves in and that, with the huge increases in the cost of fish, potatoes and many of our other products meant that we would have had to nearly double our prices in order just to survive.”