Millers opens five-week pop-up in York city centre
Millers Fish & Chips has opened a pop-up shop at a street food market in York city centre.
The Haxby takeaway has taken up the five-week stint in Parliament Street serving its popular fish and chips alongside other traders dishing up hog roasts, bao buns and kebabs all under two giant tipi tents.
The menu is a stripped-back version of what’s available in Haxby and comprises small fish and chips, mushy peas and tartare sauce, fried squid and halloumi. It’s all gluten free and cooked in vegetable oil using two gas fryers and a fish pan borrowed from the takeaway.
Open seven days a week, the pop-up marks a return to the city for the first time in over 60 years for Millers.
Owner Nick Miller comments: ”It was a last-minute opportunity for us, we were asked just last week if we wanted to be there and we jumped at the decision because we’ve always wanted an opportunity to come to York. And it’s literally just opposite the place where my grandad started the family business with his fish stall 60 years ago, so that’s really sentimental.
“It’s all very exciting, especially in this climate when investing in new property and everything that goes along with a restaurant can be a bit risky. But this is perfect for us. It gets our name out there and it gives us a chance to be a bit different. We’ve come at it at the best time of the year, the sun is shining and it will take us up to September and then we’ll see what comes after that.
“Yesterday was our first day and the response was great. We had a lot of people saying ‘Oh look, Millers have come to York’, and we had a few from Haxby that were really surprised that we turned up in the middle of York!”
Excited to be bringing its fish and chips to Parliament Street, Nick hopes once the five weeks are up Millers will be invited back for future events. He adds: “Fish and chips can sometimes get pushed out when it comes to street food, it’s normally kebabs and burgers that jump on board. But the dishes we’ve done and the way we’ve presented them are fairly simple but very effective.
“We become the USP, we’re standing out because we’re doing fish and chips but a bit different - the fact they are gluten free, a certain size, we’re even searing the lemons to caramelise them and then toasting them on the grill. It’s making us different to the traditional fish and chip shop around the corner. For this experience, you can only get it at the stall in York.”