Portsmouth chippy Mother Kelly's has refurbishment a year after being taken over

Mother Kelly’s in Southampton Road, Paulsgrove was taken over by Deep Blue in July 2018.

Now, the popular chippy is having its first refurb in over 30 years since it first opened. 

Although it is now owned and run by Deep Blue, the shop will still keep its name and the same team as well as its menu - including the ‘senior special’ deal. 

It will add dishes to the menu, including a halloumi burger and a cod burger, as well as desserts such as Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and bread and butter pudding.

It will also have an updated drinks selection. 

Manager Ben Whelan, as well as the rest of the staff, wanted to keep a lot of the restaurant the same, despite it being under new ownership.

The staff had an input in what the new-look restaurant would look like, rather than following the generic theme of the other Deep Blue restaurants across the country. 

Ben said: ‘We wanted to keep the homely feel and keep the customers happy. 90 per cent of our customers are regulars. It’s important to make them feel like they want to come back, but we also have to think about our future customers. A lot of them are older people so we want young people to want to come here too.’ 

The 27-year-old started working at the restaurant as a waiter when he was 15, moving on to other fish and chip shops in the area, before returning to Mother Kelly’s last year as the manager. 

Three members of staff have been there since it first opened in 1987.

The new-look chippy will be back up and running and open for business from 11.30am on Wednesday October 30. 

Deep Blue also runs the restaurant on South Parade Pier in Southsea, as well as a takeaways in Eastney Road, Eastney, Bedhampton Road in Bedhampton and Clarence Esplanade.

The refurbishment was undertaken by specialised Portsmouth-based firm Majestic Construction Southern Ltd in under two weeks.