Lights go out at 'famous fish and chip' shop on Harrogate's biggest street for food takeaways
A Harrogate chip shop’s future appears to be in doubt after opening less than a year ago.
Called Yorkies Fish and Chips, it was only in April 2025 that the new takeaway opened at 65 Knaresborough Road.
The launch brought to an end the question of what was happening at the dormant unit after Drake's Fish & Chips Restaurant had quietly closed its doors a year earlier.
With its striking, striped frontage of sky blue and white, Yorkies boasted of its “famous fish and chips" – “made with passion, tradition, and just the right amount of salt and vinegar”.
The new arrival meant there were for a time three different chip shops all operating within a single mile on Knaresborough Road in Harrogate.
But, in a year which has seen another of three, Bradleys, close temporarily then open again, the lights have gone dark at Yorkies Fish and Chips.
A sign attached to the chip shop’s window suggests there may a legal dispute with its landlords.
Whatever the cause, the instability of the traditional fish and chip trade in the Harrogate district highlights the struggles facing small businesses and the food and drink sector caused by the cost of living crisis and Britain’s weakened economy.
Last year’s turmoil saw long-standing Drakes Fish and Chip restaurant and takeaway at 11 Finkle Street, Ripon close.
In Harrogate, Graveleys at 8-12 Cheltenham Parade, closed then reopened late in 2025 as The Fisherman's Wife.
In Knaresborough, Drakes at 3-5 Silver Street closed its doors.