A large portion of nostalgia will be dished up in the region’s biggest Fish and Chip restaurant and takeaway – Darcy’s – opening in Manor Road, Derby.
Having transformed the former Frankie and Benny’s site, owner Easton Andrea and his father Andreas are preparing to open Darcy’s on Thursday, December 12.
And the pair are confident they have the recipe for success with a heritage of running fish and chip shops, takeaways and gastro pubs throughout the region.
Easton once ran the popular House of Darwin in Shelton Lock, before launching Honest Pizzas, then True Pizzas. Meanwhile, Andreas has been running fish and chip shops and restaurants for 30 years in places including Ripley, Doncaster and Sutton in Ashfield.
They are bringing together that expertise and heritage – along with their winning team of operation managers Richard Dean and Iain MacPherson who have worked with them at House of Darwin and True Pizzas – to launch Darcy’s.
Easton said: “Darcy’s really does feel like the culmination of everything we have been working on all these years. Fish and chip restaurants are in our heritage as a family, I remember growing up around them. We have a lot of knowledge in this industry, and we are pairing that with this young, modern team.”
Andreas says their success has taught them that the emphasis must be on great food. “Everything starts with food,” he said. “You will earn and keep customers if you offer great food at great value and that is what we are doing with Darcy’s.”
The family have owned the site off Manor Road since 2019 and were planning to open another gastro pub there, with more of a fish-based menu, but then Covid struck, dealing a blow to the entire hospitality sector, including the House of Darwin, and putting their plans on ice.
Adapting to the challenge and responding to the demand for more takeaways in a time people were not allowed to eat out, Easton and his family launched Honest Pizzas, then True Pizzas, out of the building, before it moved to Chellaston.
With the Manor Road site again vacant, Easton set about returning to his vision for Darcy’s, rejecting offers for the site from global fast food and coffee shop chains, and instead assessing the changing hospitality sector to find a way to make his vision a success.
“We knew the idea of a gastro-pub was no longer the right option financially so we looked at what had worked and we decided a restaurant with a separate take-away attached was the way forward,” he said.
With a large restaurant, capable of 120 covers, and a substantial take-away with separate entrance attached, Easton believes Darcy’s offers something different for Derby, while also working to make the large site feel intimate.
“This is the largest fish and chip shop in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire,” he said.
“But we have always enjoyed building businesses which are part of the community, and that is what we want to create here with a restaurant which feels comfortable and a little nostalgic, so our customers feel like they are coming to a relative’s place to have their food.”
In fact, even the name has a hint of the past, having been the name of a former employee from one of the family’s businesses, while pictures on the wall feature a younger Andreas in some of his fish and chip shops around the country.
Easton and Andreas hope the restaurant appeals to all ages but said they are particularly keen to please older clientele.
Easton said: “We have got a two-course senior special of fish and chips and tartar sauce and a dessert of ice cream or sponge pudding for £8.99 for the over 60s. We really want this to be a comfortable place for them to meet up and enjoy great food.”
The restaurant menu also has a lunchtime special for £9.99 of fish, chips and unlimited tea or coffee. There is also a lunchtime takeaway special of fish, chips, peas and a sausage or fishcake for £5.99.
Easton said: “We can’t wait to welcome people to Darcy’s and share our passion for great fish and chips with a great community.”
Darcy’s will open from 11.30am on Thursday, December 12.
This story was written and shared on behalf of Darcy’s by Kirsty Green. Can we share your news and get you in the headlines too? Find out how we can help by getting in touch.
