THE NEW owners of Newlyn's only fish and chip shop have high hopes to make it a thriving eaterie.
Robert Matthews, who runs Sound nightclub in Penzance, reportedly beat celebrity chef Rick Stein to snap up Jewell's for £120,000 when it was sold at auction last week. He plans to bring the takeaway on the Strand "back to the glory days" when it reopens on April 1 after a six-week makeover.
Robert has joined forces with Viv Lewis – who has run chippies in Mousehole and Rosudgeon – for the new venture, which will be called Lewis's.
Robert said: "In a fishing port the size of Newlyn, you have got to have a good fish and chip shop. It has got to be one of the best locations, and when I heard that Rick Stein was after it, we thought if it was good enough for him, it was good enough for us.
"It was a hard decision to change the name, but Viv has got a reputation for great frying." Viv said the pair made the whirlwind decision to bid for Jewell's after seeing the report in The Cornishman that it was up for sale, and she promised the port's older population would be catered for with special deals for OAPs.
For former owner Len Jewell, it has been hard to let go of a business that has been in the family for almost a century. But the 85-year-old, whose son David made the difficult decision to sell up, wished the shop well in its new incarnation.
"David had 37 years with it but it is difficult for any small business to survive," he said. "People haven't got the money because we are a low-wage area; it is not a cheap meal any more. I hope they make a go of it, but it is a business where you have got to do two men's work to survive. I am sorry that it is not still in the same hands but we have had 96 years in Newlyn."
Entrepreneur Robert said he was confident the shop would flourish, and he was already taking bulk orders for lunch from firms in Eastern Green.
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