The team at the Redcloak Fish Bar in Stonehaven dished out around 750 free kid’s meals this summer after owner Jamie Russo “wanted to try and relieve some of the stress for parents.”
The 22-year-old, who took over the fish and chip shop in May, decided to offer the deal every Saturday from Saturday, July 29 to Saturday, August 19 from 4pm to 8pm.
Roughly 150 to 250 free children’s meals were handed out on each day.
Kids’ battered fish, sausage and chicken fillet suppers were on the cards, along with a soft drink, which would usually cost £5.10 at the Redcloak Fish Bar.
Jamie says the more popular choice was the latter.
“It would be between the chicken and sausages,” he adds.
“But I think the chicken would have edged it with around 320 portions of chicken fillets and chips.”
WM Fraser provided potatoes for chips, while the sausages were from King Foods.
‘The feedback has been incredible’, says 22-year-old Stonehaven chipper owner
The Press and Journal shared word of the free kids’ suppers offer last month. The 22-year-old says this “definitely helped the shop reach a lot more parents and give away a lot more kids’ meals”.
“Overall, it [the total] was around 750,” adds Jamie. “And we definitely wouldn’t have hit that number without the article.”
Jamie and his nine-strong team have been praised by new and familiar faces due to the offer.
“We’ve even had letters from people in Peterhead wishing us well as they had seen the article a few weeks ago,” he went on to say. “The feedback has been incredible.
“There were definitely a lot of familiar faces every week.
“I would say around 75% of the meals given away were to people who came every week.”
Free meals will return to the Redcloak Fish Bar after overwhelming response
When asked if the deal is something Jamie would consider bringing back, his response was: “100%.
“After seeing the impact and response we’ve had doing it during the summer, we will definitely be looking to do it again.
“Knowing that we’ve been able to feed a child and make sure there are no empty stomachs is exactly why we would do it again.
“It’s an incredible feeling knowing we’ve been able to help. We have no idea of each parent’s situation, but the last thing we want is for children to have to suffer or go without.
“That’s why we opened it up to everyone, and we’re just so glad that so many people made the most of it.”
The Stonehaven chipper owner also revealed that on the last day, a customer gave his team a case of beer as a thank you.
He added: “We had a lot of kids come in on their own which was nice to see.
“There was also a lot who came in with parents and grandparents and they were all very appreciative.”
Conversation