INTRODUCTION TO HARRY'S FISH BAR

Here at Harry’s Fish Bar we try to provide a wide range of great quality fast food at very competitive prices.

Did you know that fish and chips are Britain’s favourite takeaway, with more than 283 million portions sold per year? What is it about our country’s most famous traditional meal that makes it so popular?

Fish and chips at Harry’s are freshly prepared from natural products. We buy in the best potatoes from local farmers and have fish delivered every day (except Sundays), unlike many others who use frozen cheaper alternatives. Even our most popular accompaniments such as peas, gravy and curry are all prepared daily, no tinned stuff or ‘delivered already made’.

As well as fish and chips, we also have a large selection of authentic Chinese meals, many of which are very healthy, low in fat and all cooked to order, meaning you get only the freshest quality cooked food from our chef!

These are some of the reasons Harry’s Fish Bar has thrived since 1967 and will continue to do so, making it Penketh’s favourite and one of Warrington’s best known and longest running family-run chippies.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF HARRY'S FISH BAR

Harry’s Fish Bar is a family run business established in 1967, which has been passed down from father to son.

Harry Avraam was born 04/10/1935 in Lefkara, Cyprus, a small town renowned for making silver and lace. Even today, it is highly frequented by tourists, though it is not near the coast—they come to see the skills of the craftsmen at work in their traditional settings.

Harry and his wife, Margarita, emigrated to England during the post-war economic boom of the late fifties looking for a new life. First, trying their hand at hairdressing which Harry had learnt back in Cyprus and even working in a factory ironing clothes in London before eventually moving up north to Liverpool and taking up the fish and chip trade. After working for several years with family who had already established themselves in the trade, they finally purchased their own shop on Faulkner Street in Liverpool city centre.

After the city council decided to demolish the buildings, they moved on to Prescot for some years, before finally settling here in Penketh, Warrington, in 1967, where Harry’s Fish Bar has since been established as one of the town’s longest running businesses.

In 1996, Harry turned over the running of the business to his youngest son Nik, who had just graduated from university, having completed a business studies degree. Nik has moved the business on and updated both the fixtures and fittings and the menu.

In 1999, Harry’s Fish Bar was the first fish and chip shop to be listed on the internet. Soon the local press picked up on this and the Warrington Guardian published an article. This was then followed by one in the Daily Star! Both articles can be seen further down this page.

In August 2005, Nik plans another refurbishment and further revamp of the menu. Harry’s Fish Bar will be introducing new lines, with an emphasis on healthy, low-fat products such as baked potatoes, salads and mousaka.

HARRY'S FISH BAR IN THE PRESS

FISH ON THE NET

AN ENGLISH chip shop has become a hit on the internet. Harry’s Fish Bar in Penketh, Cheshire, has set up it’s own website, complete with pictures of fish, chips and mushy peas, and now recieves E-mails from ex-pats all over the world.

Daily Star, 08/06/1999

FISH AND CHIPS ARE LUSTED AFTER ACROSS THE WORLD

WEB-surfing ex-Warringtonians all over the world have been paying tribute to one of the town’s best-loved institutions —Harry’s Fish Bar!

Emigrants as far flung as California and Australia have been sending E-mail odes to the Penketh chippy via a new Penketh website.

The nostalgic net surfers are so hungry for a flavour of Penketh, they are even asking the operator to include pictures of Harry’s famous fish, chips and mushy peas!

Sandra, in Fremont, California said : “I wonder if Harry knows the influence he has had on so many of our lives? What I wouldn’t do for some fish, chips and curry! I think Harry deserves a medal!”

Dave Barber, in Toronto, Canada, said: “I’m coming home for the Millenium and there is nowhere else I would rather be. I’m looking forward to Harry’s mushy peas!”

Ste Walsh, in New York, said: “It’s been 22 years since I left Sankey for the States. The night before I left, I remember getting off a bus opposite Kwik Save and popping into Harry’s! Imagine how many bags of chips have been served since then!”

Cypriot immigrant Harry Avraam opened his family business on Warrington Road in 1966. These days, although he still helps out in the mornings, the shop is run by his son, Nik, who said “I’m delighted to hear people are so fond of our chips! I run the shop very differently to how my dad did, but I think it was all the hard work he put in for 30 years that has made the shop such a success.”

Warrington Guardian, 28/05/1999