What more do you want from a top takeaway?
The Sudlow family opened the Padgate place in 2007 and plans are the pipeline to open a coffee shop in the area next month.
Here, in our latest Business of the Week feature, Plaice Station manager Kieran Sudlow tells us about the business as it celebrates its 18th birthday and what opening a new coffee shop entails.
If you would like your business to feature as Business or Trader of the Week, email heidi.summerfield@newsquest.co.uk
Plaice Station is celebrating its 18th birthday
What’s your full name?
Kieran Sudlow
What’s the name of the business?
Plaice Station
What’s the address?
Padgate Railway Station
Station Road South
Padgate
WA2 0QS
Are you the owner/manager?
I’m the manager (the owner’s son).
When did you open the business?
May 2007 – it’s our 18th birthday this week!
Has it always been in the same location?
Yes, we have only had one sole location.
Plaice Station’s battered fish
Are you local to the area? Did you grow up here?
Yes, we grew up in Mayberry Grove just a five-minute walk from the station. We all still live here in Warrington
Tell me a bit about your business
We opened in May 2007. We had quick success as we entered and came third nationally in the Fish and Chip shop awards while also winning the North West Award. We haven’t entered again since but have plans to compete in the next couple of years after we complete our refurbishments.
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What do you do? What services do you provide?
We’re a traditional fish and chip shop. We have flirted with other menu items in the past to expand our menu but we find what our customers really come for is just a good portion of fish and chips. We are now focussing on sticking with a more traditional menu but making this as good as we can. In June, we are bringing our homemade pies and puddings to the menu, which already features mostly products which are made here and not brought in boxes.
We have just opened a new outside seating area with benches in a south facing open garden which sees sunlight for as long as it’s in the sky. It’s a beautifully peaceful place where you can just sit and hear the birds sing their songs
Plaice Station opened at Padgate Station in May 2007
Why did you decide to open your own business?
My dad was a joiner. He wanted to be able to have something for himself where he could eventually step back a little. You will still find him here refurbishing and tidying the place up.
What’s your business background?
Myself, I’ve been a chef for most of my career. Working in multi rosette restaurants, most notably Manchester House and the Church Green as well as abroad in multi hatted restaurants in Australia at Spicers Peak Lodge.
Why this type of business?
I’m not sure! I’ve asked my dad a few times and it seems it was just an in the moment story. The building was available and he fancied changing the way he made a living to make fish and chips. We’ve never looked back.
Were you open before/during/after the Covid-19 pandemic? How did this affect your business?
We were – it was a weird one really. We first closed for the first three months, when the big chains did followed the herd – we didn’t know what was going on. When we re-opened, we had a large boom in business. With everything closed, takeaway food was the new going out. In recent times, the general cost of living crisis that has followed had a hard hit on us as it has hit every business as well our customers. We’re just happy and thankful to still be trading in the times we’re in.
Plaice Station’s award-winning fish and chips
What makes your business different to others in the same area/field? What sets your business apart from your competitors?
I think a couple of things – we have a lot of menu items, which we make here in house which not many traditional takeaways take part in. Along with us being here for so long now, this week marks 18 years of trading – same owners, management and operators. Looking back, we have traded and been a stable business through some really hard times. From the big recession in the year we opened in 2007, Covid-19 and beyond. Being able to maintain consistency for such a long time shows great credit to the staff we have now and have had over the years.
Why do loyal customers return to your business?
Our different menu items, consistency and longevity. We have a good stable team which helps – it allows us to have a great customer connection and maintain what we’re about.
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What’s next? What do the next few months hold for you and your business?
It’s actually a really exciting time for us. We are just in the process of having an expansion, creating our own little food group. June will see us open a speciality coffee shop here in Padgate. We have linked up with a speciality roaster in Bolton offering beautiful single origin coffees. Morning takeaway breakfast will be on offer for early commuters as well as up market brunch for those customers wanting something a bit more leisurely. There will be expertly hand crafted coffee and I’ll be using my fine dine background to create an unbelievable food destination. It’s about time Warrington had a real food scene and with Quaker Coffee we want to be at the forefront of it.
Plaice Station now has garden benches where customers can enjoy their fish and chips
