The owner of TikTok sensation Binley Mega Chippy said he is "really grateful" after it shot to fame on the app - describing it was a "Gift from God". The Coventry chip shop became a worldwide phenomenon when a student created a catchy tune about it.
It has since attracted customers from across the globe and there have been long queues snaking outside. Owner Kamal Gandhi said he has taken on four new staff members and had to ensure a continuous supply of stock to meet the demand, Coventry Live reports.
The 70-year-old told the Guardian: "We’re really grateful, it’s a gift from god really,” said Mr Gandhi. He revealed he was bewildered as to how the chip shop achieved such fame as he had never used social media to promote it.
He described Binley Mega Chippy as "just an ordinary fish and chip shop" and said he wanted to keep his customers happy, no matter where they have come from. Other big brands have since capitalised on the chip shop's rise to fame. Iceland created a mock bag of Binley Mega Chippy chips and Avanti West Coast added the shop’s sign to its route map.
Although the long queues had died down considerably by last weekend, there was still a continuous stream of cars pulling up to order food. Mr Gandhi said: “Even now, all these customers, I’ve never seen them before, they’re all new."
He said sales had gone through the roof and staff had been working around the clock to reduce queue times, which at their peak were two hours long.
One happy customer was 11-year-old Oscar from Leicester, who asked his parents if they could visit Binley Mega Chippy on a day out to Coventry. The youngster wanted to get a photo in front of the shop’s famous red and yellow frontage to show his sister and friends.
His mum Emma told the Guardian: “He logged on to TikTok and started playing the song as we were walking in. Him and his sister won’t stop singing it."
