The Northern Fish Restaurant in Elgin will close later this month after owner Michael Miele made the “heartbreaking” decision to shut the 101-year-old business.
Generations of diners have tucked into fish suppers from the back booths and spun tunes on its 1950s jukebox.
Mr Miele, 70, has worked in the Elgin High Street takeaway since he was in primary school, started full-time in 1970 and has run it since his father John retired in 1995.
However, he told the Press and Journal his advancing years had forced him to call time on the business that has been loved by generations of diners.
He said: “I’m 71 in December. It’s breaking my heart, but I’ve had to bite the bullet.
“It’s getting harder on my knees and my mind. The day after I told the staff I got a phone call to say I needed a knee replacement.
“The staff were in tears when I told them. If I felt I could, I would 100% continue. I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself, it’s been my life.”
‘I don’t want to close Northern Fish Restaurant’
Mr Miele put the Northern Fish Restaurant on the market last year, but without a buyer in sight has decided to close the Elgin business.
The final day of business will be August 31.
He explained: “It’s been pretty hard going. I start work at 9am and don’t finish until 10pm, it was 11.30pm until Covid so it’s come down a little bit.
“I’m going to really miss it. Customers have been coming in for years, I’m really going to miss them. You can be having a bad day and they pick you up.
“I’ve been lucky with some fantastic staff, they’ve been so reliable over the years. They’ve never let me down.
“I’m going to miss the work too. It’s all I’ve ever done, I’ve never really had a social life.
“I just hope my (late) father understands. He put in a lot of work building it up.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself. Folk say I should start fishing but I can’t tie the knots. I’m going to be bored.”
Generation of Elgin youngsters grew up in fish and chip shop
The Northern Fish Restaurant opened in Elgin in 1923 and has been under the stewardship of the Miele family since 1953.
Its interior is largely the same as it was in the 1960s with generations of youngsters growing up on meals served on the back booths.
The 1950s jukebox has been lovingly maintained by Mr Miele himself with new tunes continuing to be added.
Seeing people’s faces light up when they see the diner-style seating remains one of Mr Miele’s highlights.
He said: “You can see they’re in a time warp when they see it. Folk have been proposed to here and they can remember it like a photograph.
“It’s memories for so many people. We get people in from all around the world and they’re just amazed by it.
“I remember we once had some Americans in who were over working on the RAF base and they said they wanted a fish supper.
“So I took the order and they said they wanted to take it back to America. I said to them ‘I better wrap it up for you then.’
“Then they told me they were going to cook it on the way back.”
Could there still be a future for Northern Fish Restaurant?
The Northern Fish Restaurant remains on the market for offers over £295,000 with the property including a three-bedroom home, where Mr Miele lives.
Despite there being no firm interest since it going up for sale last year, the businessman is hopeful someone could still revive it.
He said: “I just hope someone comes along. Fresh minds and new ideas could really help it.
“This is old fashioned now, but people still love it. It’s like a classic car. You can still polish them up and make them shiny, they don’t have to be scrapped.
“We’ve made changes over the years though. We added to the menu with things like chicken and burgers, which we’d never have done before.
“I would have kept it going myself, but this year has been a real struggle for me.”
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