When people hear the term "fish & chips" they are likely to conjure up visions of Great Britain, Dickens' characters and fish fillets wrapped in newspaper. For the record, fish & chips did originate in England and is mentioned in many accounts of British life. The dish itself is made up of white fish fillets which are batter dipped, deep fried and served with chips (really oversized french fries) and then sprinkled liberally with malt vinegar.
Most of the fish & chips meals were eaten away from the shop in which they were prepared, so this required some sort of packaging. For reasons of economy, it became custom for fish & chips shops to wrap their product in newspaper. It was not uncommon for an Englishman to judge the quality of the fish & chips he was eating by the newspaper in which it was wrapped. A conservative newspaper contained an undesirable product in the opinion of a liberal Englishman.
In 1965 the National Federation of Fish & Chips Fryers in England began a three year study to determine who first produced fish & chips commercially and when. The study concluded that fish & chips were first produced commercially in East London in 1865, at a shop named "Malin's of Bow".
The History of Arthur Treacher's Restaurants
The idea to market fish & chips to the people of the United States occurred to the founders of Arthur Treacher's in October 1968. Over the next several months a thorough investigation of the history, development, equipment, processes, procedures, products and viability of the fish & chips business were undertaken. In March 1969 the secret batter and processes were patented, and to this day the original batter recipe is still contained in a vault. In May 1969 the founders purchased Malin's of Bow, the originator of fish & chips.
The next step was to find a name for the new company, one that portrayed the desired English image. Arthur Treacher was the perfect match. Mr. Treacher was a film and television actor who had come to the United States from East Sussex, England following World War 1. During his film career Arthur Treacher became Hollywood's perfect English butler, creating the role of Jeeves. He made over 67 films including "The Little Princess" and several others alongside Shirley Temple, "Step Lively Jeeves" and "Mary Poppins". So Arthur Treacher's name and likeness were purchased and proudly applied to the new company.
Finally on June 21, 1969 the first Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips restaurant opened in Columbus, Ohio. The company was an immediate success and restaurants were opened throughout the Midwest and eastern seaboard. The restaurants located here in Northeast Ohio have been serving this community for more than 30 years. So if your family hasn't visited us lately, then tonight...treat 'em to Treacher's!
