Newport chipper is booming through Covid crisis
By Tom Gillespie
THE Covid crisis has proven a boom for a Newport based takeaway business.
The Port Chipper on Meddlicott Street has recorded increased orders as well as visitors cycling and walking the greenway.
The fast food restaurant is run by Sean and Heidi Mohan and their speciality is cod and chips.
Kilmaine native Sean told me: “We concentrate on doing freshly cut chips and fresh fish battered. We do a fresh local burger and we do an Irish chicken fillet burger.
“We do a good gluten-free range as well. We get a lot of celiacs down here. We got a frier in specially just to cater for celiacs. Gluten-free now is a big thing. There are an awful lot of celiacs out there compared to what there were years ago.
“Most celiacs we were talking to found it difficult to order a takeaway because they could not be catered for as everything was going into the same frier so everything was cross-contaminated.”
Their gluten-free menu consists of Keane’s steak burger, grilled tandoori chicken burger, chips, taco cheese chips, and Margherita pizza.
Their non gluten-free menu consists of a range of burgers, chicken dishes, dips, meal deals, fish, kids meals and a range of pizzas.
Sean continued: “The cod we are going with at the moment is not fresh because we could not get the quality or quantity of fresh cod. We are using a frozen-at-sea cod that we get from Norway. The quality of it is actually better that the fresh stuff I was getting. It is more expensive to get the frozen cod.
“It is caught and frozen within two hours. So when I get it it is like two hours old. The stuff I would be getting fresh would be two or three days old.
“The cod we use is as good as you will get anywhere. While it costs more than the fresh stuff it is well worth it.
“We cook it in a simple batter and serve it with freshly cut chips. At this time of year that is what we sell most of. If we sell one cod outside on our benches on a summer’s evening, they are all getting cod.”
Sean has been a chef all his life. He started off in Ashford Castle after he left school. He did two years in Killybegs Catering College, went back to Ashford, and on to another five-star hotel in Killarney.
He said: “I went to England and then to Sicily for two years where I worked in a lot of different places. I came back to Ireland and I have been working around this area ever since.
“I was in Kelly’s Kitchen with the intention of going back to Sicily but then I met Heidi and I am still here.”
Heidi (nee Moore), a native of Newport, said: “Covid has helped our business. We have got much busier since Covid hit.
“We were very lucky to be open the whole time through Covid. We were never closed. It was great.”
Sean added: “We have got a lot more customers. People who would not have gone to takeaways came to us and now we get them every week. It is all big family orders because everyone is at home during Covid. Every order we got was for six to 10 people.
“Our business works better during the lockdown and during outside dining. When we had people dining in here we needed another waitress. We had all their rubbish. When customers are taking the orders with them it is win, win.”
Heidi continued: “All our packaging is eco-friendly and biodegradable. Our plates for inside are bamboo boxes as it is easier to grow bamboo. We line them with a bit of paper and add the fish and chips.
“The greenway has been great to us. It has brought so many people, particularly families on bikes. Without the greenway Newport would be gone. But with the greenway every bit of accommodation in the town is full.”
The Port Chipper opens from 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. They are closed on Mondays and close at 9 p.m. on Sunday.
The Port Chipper is located at Meddlicott Street, Newport, and can be contacted on (083) 3036308.