Blue Lagoon has served up fish suppers to stars including Justin Bieber, Lewis Capaldi and Nigella Lawson
Blue Lagoon famously played host to Justin Bieber – who popped in to sample a deep-fried haggis after one of his Glasgow gigs(Image: Blue Lagoon)
A family firm of fish and chip restaurants that has served sports stars and world famous singers in Scotland has plans to launch its first chippy in England, here in the North East. Blue Lagoon is looking to convert a shop in Newcastle city centre into a new restaurant.
Blue Lagoon already has a string of sit-in eateries across Scotland, and its shops have welcomed everyone from Scotland football players to celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, singer Lewis Capaldi and superstar performer Justin Bieber, who visited its Glasgow store to tuck into deep fried haggis and Irn Bru after a gig. Now the company has its eye on a prime site close to the Bigg Market, which it plans to transform into a restaurant for 56 diners alongside an adjoining takeaway.
The proposal also reveals that the lease will soon be up at the firm currently trading from the site it plans it take over. The company – which has also served fish suppers to the likes of Celebs Go Dating star Paul Brunson and Love Island’s Michael Griffiths – plans to take over part of 4 Newgate Street, specifically unused floorspace adjoining Chilliflames Afro-Portugese restaurant, and 77 Grainger Street, currently operated by Dicksons.
Dicksons the pork butchers opened its flagship city centre store in 2016, and has been serving freshly made sandwiches alongside signature classics such as the famous saveloy dip and a selection of meats, pies and savouries ever since. It is not known if Dicksons is looking to extend the lease or seek an alternative location for a Newcastle store.
When contacted, a spokesman for Dicksons said: “As this is still very early on in the planning phase we don’t wish to comment at this time.”
Blue Lagoon has now submitted proposals to Newcastle City Council for listed building consent to remove internal walls and to change the shopfront, with one of the directors at Blue Lagoon fish and chip shops sending a letter to planners, highlighting the benefits a new restaurant could bring.
The letter from Simone Varese outlines how the third-generation family business was started by his grandfather Ersilio Varese in 1975 with first branch opening within Glasgow City Centre. Now running the company alongside his father and two brothers, Blue Lagoon marked 50 years of trading this year and now has 16 branches throughout West Central Scotland.
Blue Lagoon hopes to open its first fish and chip restaurant in England at 77 Grainger Street, where Dicksons currently trades, and part of 4 Newgate Street.(Image: Staff photo)
The note says: “It has been a long term ambition of ours to take the next big step and open our first branch within one of England’s most prominent and vibrant cities.
“Having personally carried out our due-diligence process on Newcastle over the last eight years, I firmly believe that your city, and this location specifically, fits our requirements perfectly. Not least because I believe that there are so many similarities between our home City of Glasgow and Newcastle.
“Should we receive the required approval on our planning application, we would then proceed with the £2m pound project employing circa 30 local employees whilst also in my opinion greatly enhancing the location from how it looks currently.”
Planning documents add: “No 77 Grainger Street operates as a Dickson’s butchers/ bakery incorporating a seating area for consumption of hot food on the premises. It was formerly a Greggs bakery. The lease for this unit expires shortly.
“The proposal represents a total investment of £2m into the area between buying, redeveloping and fitting out a beautiful new restaurant. If the application is not successful, there will be no investment, and the unit may be vacant from April.”
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