Cockerton Fisheries, serving the community for 35 years

Cockerton Fisheries, on Woodland Road, has been run by Samantha Todd for the last nine years after she took over from her dad, Tony.

Never one to rest on her laurels, she is always looking for new ways to grow and is adding a surprise new item to the menu – deep fried pizzas.

Sam, 52 has a long connection with the chippy, after getting a Saturday job when she was just 15. She explained how her dad, who was a mechanic, came to own the business.

She said: “When the previous owners wanted to sell, they asked my dad, who was a mechanic, if he wanted to buy it. My dad was like ‘why would I want a fish and chip shop as a mechanic?’. But he need decided to take it on, so it was really all down to me getting that Saturday job.”

Sam’s dad Tony, who sadly passed away last month, sold his garage and took on the chip shop full-time. He retired nine years ago, which was when Sam took on the running of the business.

She said it is the “best thing I have ever done”.

“It is flipping hard work, but I had two young children and I could work around the children as well as having my own business”, she said.

Sam took over the business from her dad, Tony, nine years ago (Image: ANDY FUTERS)

“It has been hard work keeping up with everything, such as changes to fish prices, staff; it is all very difficult. But we are thriving and good for Cockerton too.”

Despite all the hard work, Sam revealed that after 35 years of renting the building, she has officially bought it.

She said: “The next step is now a total revamp of the premises to bring it into the modern world.”

The 52-year-old admitted fish and chip shops are struggling, citing the rise in fish prices as the main reason.

The business owner, whose chip shop has won The Northern Echo’s Best Chippy for the last two years, explained: “We are a busy shop, but the profit margin is reducing very quickly due to this fish. The fish quota has been reduced by 40 per cent, so fish and chip shops are looking for alternatives.

“We are introducing hake to the menu, which is a cheaper fish.

“I have put everything into it; I am striving to get the best out of it.”

The chip shop has won The Northern Echo’s Best Chippy Award for the last two years (Image: ANDY FUTERS)

However, Sam has had to introduce new items to the menu to combat the rise of fish prices. She also believes she could be the first in Darlington and England to introduce one dish.

She said: “Because of fish prices, we are bringing something exciting to the shop. In Scotland they deep fry pizzas. I have been in contact with a company up in Scotland, they actually make fresh pizzas which are gorgeous, and they arrived this week.

“We are hoping to be the first chip shop, in Darlington and England to introduce these Scottish deep-fried pizzas. That is one thing we’re adding to the menu this week.”

With Cockerton Fisheries being in her family for 35 years, Sam said it is always nice to see different generations of families coming in.

She added: “We have been serving some families for more than 15, 20 years. Before Covid, we had a little café.

“We closed it during Covid, but we have people coming in saying ‘when I was a child, I used to come in here all the time, my grandma used to bring me into the café’. Generation after generation have been coming. I serve customers now that were coming in when I was 15.”

And it is not just the village of Cockerton and town of Darlington that it serves.

Sam’s family have run the business for 35 years (Image: ANDY FUTERS)

“We have people coming from all over. They will come from as far as Richmond and Catterick,” the business owner explained.

“Sometimes people will say ‘We have just come from America, we live there now and our family have been looking forward to it’. They had not been in the country for 10 years and their first stop was Cockerton Fisheries.”

And Sam said the Cockerton community is the best part of the village.

She said: “A lady came in the other day, and I was talking to her about the prices and how they have gone up again. And she said the village would not be the same without Cockerton Fisheries. It is just part of the village. I cannot thank the community enough for all their support over the years.”

With the rise in fish prices and how some chippies are struggling, she believes it is more important than ever before to support and to continue to support independent businesses.

“It is really important to support independent businesses and chip shops,” Sam explained.

“People do understand the increase in prices, but I try to support the community by keeping the prices down, looking at alternatives and making sure I have got the best products.”