Terry’s Fish & Chips Northallerton to mark major milestones in 2026
Terry Garner, who runs Terryβs Fish & Chips from Morton-on-Swale, just outside Northallerton, has spent more than four decades travelling across villages in North Yorkshire bringing fish and chips to customers who might otherwise struggle to reach a traditional takeaway.
Mr Garner began the mobile business in 1981 and at its peak operated a fleet of vans covering large parts of the Yorkshire Dales, as well as attending major events, including Pickering Steam Rally and Appleby Horse Fair.
This also included going to major events across the UK, which saw Terry travelling across the UK to fly the flag for North Yorkshire when it came to fish and chips.
Over the years, the operation has gradually scaled back, and today Mr Garner, alongside his partner Jean, continues to run a single van serving regular village rounds.
This sees the pair travel to Welbury, Appleton Wiske, West Rounton, and East Harlsey on Tuesday, Hutton Rudby, Swainby, and Ingleby on Wednesday, Aldwark, Linton-on-Ouse, Newton-on-Ouse, Tollerton, Flawith, and Tholthorpe on Thursday, Leeming Village and RAF Leeming on Friday, and Hutton Rudby on Saturday.
The fish and chip van also caters for private events, parties, and weddings.
Despite reaching his 80th birthday in April, he has no plans to retire.
“I feel like I’ve hardly worked a day in my life; it’s been a pleasure to do so,” said Terry.
“If I didn’t have this to do, I’d be bored. I always have to be doing something.
“I get a sense of fulfilment helping people and serving the communities near where I live.
“The job gets me out of bed in the morning. I don’t want to just lie in a chair and get old, I want to serve the communities that have made the business special all these years.”
Terry says that the best part of owning the fish and chip van is seeing his regular customers.
For those who are housebound and can’t get to the van, Terry’s partner Jean often delivers right to the door, giving the business its “personal touch”.
For Mr Garner, the business has been more than just a job, becoming a familiar fixture in many rural communities over the decades.
In 2013, one of his vans was destroyed in a fire, but he rebuilt a replacement vehicle himself and was back serving customers within three weeks.
The devastating fire took place in Hutton Rudby, near Stokesley, and gutted the van.
At the time, witnesses reported seeing an explosion as the fat went up in flames.
Terry’s partner, Jean, escaped the fire by jumping out of the window while Mr Garner tried to put it out with fire extinguishers, but the pair could only watch as their business went up in flames.
But it wasn’t just this that was a big challenge for the business, according to Mr Garner, as it was the Covid-19 pandemic that became a “real killer”, which saw food businesses grind to a halt seemingly overnight.
While Terry and Jean kept going for parts of the pandemic, Mr Garner called the time “awful” due to not being able to see his regular customers or operate in the same way.
The determination to keep going and not let customers down has helped sustain the business through the years.
His daughter, Lena Garner, has recently nominated him for recognition in the English Fish & Chip Awards in the hope that his decades of dedication to the communities he serves will be acknowledged.
After 45 years on the road, Mr Garner continues to travel village routes each week, still serving customers from the van that has become a longstanding part of local life.
After first starting on the markets and then adapting to a travelling shop at the age of just 17, Mr Garner has always worked in a customer-facing role, which he calls “incredible”.
And as the old saying goes, age is just a number, and Terry says he doesn’t feel almost 80 years of age.
“Even though I have arthritis and my body might feel that age, my mind feels sharp as ever, and I want to keep going to the fish and chip shop for as long as I can.”