Binley Mega Chippy Owner 'Had No Idea' Why People From All Over Country Started Turning Up
Published
| Last updated
The owner of Binley Mega Chippy has spoken out following the surge of customers the shop has seen after going viral on TikTok.
Loading…
News of the Coventry fish and chip shop became widespread online when a food reviewer posted a video on TikTok of the best takeaways in the UK featuring Binley Mega Chippy as the top hit.
The shop's name has since been turned into a theme tune and has become the subject of multiple videos on the social media platform.
Owner Kamal Gandhi, has spoken out about how he still has 'no idea' how the shop has seen quite so many customers since blowing up online.
Gandhi explained how the shop and its staff 'don't do TikTok' or Twitter to advertise the business.
He told The Guardian: "Thursday it started to get busy, and I noticed people out the front taking pictures. I was just like, ‘What are people doing?’ We assume someone local who likes the food has made the song and it’s just gone viral."
Gandhi warned that if the influx in customers continues, the shop 'won't be able to cope' with ordering more and 'more stuff'.
"We will have to see how the week pans out … We have to be prepared, we don’t want to run out of food. We are having to bring all the staff in."
However, he noted how staff are 'not going to complain'. "I think the novelty will wear off, we do know that. But you never know, it could continue throughout the summer," he said.
Claire Foster, mother to 16-year-old Ellie and 15-year-old George, explained how visiting the chip shop was 'top of [the siblings'] list' of things to do in half-term.
She said: "We could have gone to the seaside, but no, they said they wanted to go to Binley Mega Chippy."
A pair of friends commented on how 'funny' the whole situation was given the shop 'didn't even make the song' and has gotten 'so much free publicity'.
Gandhi revealed people have travelled from all over - one customer having trekked from Sydney, Australia - to visit the chippy.
6 hours on a bus from Scotland just to visit #Binleymegachippy. The Binley Mega Chippy song was posted on TikTok now people are visiting from all over UK. pic.twitter.com/MIwwZX0ww1
— BBC CWR (@BBCCWR) May 30, 2022
He also noted how the shop still sees crowds swarm to it even when it's closed.
"We have had people from Portsmouth, Essex, Dundee. We were closed on Sunday and there were still loads of people outside taking pictures. There were 30 cars outside," he said.
While the owner appreciates the drive in business, he said that many of the people flooding to the shop are 'youngsters' and 'just want to try the chips and curry sauce'.
Gandhi concluded: "We just want to keep all our customers happy, on a regular basis."
