Weymouth 'chippy with a heart' finalist for tourism award
Fish ‘n’ Fritz has been helping those in need during the pandemic
A Weymouth fish ‘n’ chip restaurant and takeaway has been nominated for a regional tourism award after taking home the gold here in Dorset.
Fish ‘n’ Fritz on Market Street won gold for Casual Dining at the Dorset Tourism Awards earlier this year.
Now they’re in the running for the same award at the South West Tourism Awards.
The restaurant is being praised for it’s casual dining experience but there’s one thing it takes seriously, helping those in need.
During the pandemic they’ve helped by delivering hampers to those in need of food. They frequently hand surplus food out to the homeless too, as well as running a scheme that lets customers buy a coffee for those less fortunate.
Simone Phillips is the manager there. She told Greatest Hits Radio Dorset:
“When we first found out that we were up for the Dorset Tourism awards we were over the moon.
“It’s really nice to be recognised for the things that we do and we try to help people and we provide the service.
“To find out that we’ve now been shortlisted for the South West Tourism awards is just great for us.”
She also told us the secret to the business' success:
“We keep things very traditional, that’s a big help. We try to help the community, we offer things like suspended coffee schemes to help the homeless and people in need; we do feed the homeless at the end of the night.
“Consistency, perhaps, we try to keep everything the same as much as possible whilst moving with the modern times.”
This years South West Tourism Awards will be taking place virtually on April 22nd.
Other Dorset businesses nominated include:
- Dorset House – B&B & Guest House of the Year
- St John’s Guest House – B&B & Guest House of the Year
- Marsham Court Hotel – Business Events & Wedding Venue of the Year
- Picnic Park Deli – Café/ Tearoom of the Year
- South Lytchett Manor Caravan and Camping Park – Camping and Caravanning Park of the Year
- Jurassic Coast Guides – Experience of the Year
- The Tank Museum – Large Visitor Attraction of the Year
- The Cross Keys – New Tourism Business Award
- Al Molo – Restaurant of the Year
- Moose Kitchen – Restaurant of the Year
- Nothe Fort – Small Visitor Attraction of the year
- Scupture by the Lakes – Small Visitor Attraction of the Year & Tourism Event/ Festival of the Year
Robin Barker, director of Services for Tourism Ltd, who manage the Awards, commented:
“We so nearly cancelled this year’s awards but are so glad we continued.
"The reaction from businesses, the stories they’ve told, and the innovation and inspiration we’ve witnessed amongst hundreds of small businesses has been humbling. We’re so pleased to be able to play our part in supporting such a deserving and important sector.”