Kiremko range takes demand in its stride at ‘bums on seats’ shop

Ian Corner of The Waterfront speaks to KFE about his monthly savings...

You won’t hear of North Shields’ Waterfront fish and chip restaurant when awards are being handed out – operator Ian Corner measures the success of his business by the number of bums on seats, and the accolades of customers who come from miles around. And there’s no-one in the UK serves fresher fish, for his shop is at the heart of North Shields fish market, where the building was previously a fish processing plant. “I don’t need awards to tell me my business is doing well,” he told editor Keith Dixon. “My customers tell me these are the best fish and chips they’ve ever tasted, and many travel for miles to get here, week in, week out.”

The takeaway area of the shop is forever busy, and Ian has recently increased restaurant seating by 40%, to 106 covers. “There’s no magic wand,” says Ian. “We’re an established family business – my father and mother Michael and Valerie are still involved, as are my wife Deborah and daughters Stacey and Samantha. We have a loyal, dependable staff team headed by manager Christine Greenwell. “And we serve only the very best quality ingredients.”

Previously an ‘old school’ fish and chip operation, with two flat pan ranges of four-pan and three-pan capacity, Ian decided the way forward was to explore high efficiency basket-style frying. He asked colleagues in the trade – and the word came back to talk to Kiremko. Kiremko Salesman Bill Shaw introduced Ian to existing Kiremko operators, and the Waterfront replaced its two old ranges with a monster six-pan Kiremko island range. “It’s undoubtedly the finest piece of equipment I’ve bought in my life,” says Ian. “This is a hugely busy shop, yet the new range has never ever been under pressure – in fact, we’ve never yet had to operate all six pans … so we still have expansion capacity. “The range is a dream to use, it takes surges in demand in its stride, and it’s a bit of a joke with us now, how tiny our gas bills are. Once we were paying up to £1500 per month – now it’s in the region of £250. I’d recommend Kiremko to anyone.”

Fryer & Fast Food - March 2010.