Mo’s Chippy on Deansgate holds a unique place in the folklore of the PR industry in Manchester. I want to see how deep this special feeling really goes.
Knott Mill, where the chippy is based, is like a mini PR hive of industry. Like Media City will be one day. Mo, the boss, has been serving fish and chips for years to the likes of Biss Lancaster, Weber Shandwick, MC2, Iris Worldwide and Staniforth (before they relocated to Didsbury).
I once witnessed three agency Managing Directors accidentally meeting in the chippy at the same time. Fish and Chips are a great leveller!
Apart from nourishing the minds and souls of PROs, Mo’s Chippy is a great way to get a feel for what is actually happening in the real world, away from the mollycoddled realm of Public Relations.
Food is only a small part of the experience. Mo doesn’t just serve chips but dishes out pearls of wisdom that someone should collate into a book.
So, I thought I would honour Mo with a post, especially as my blog has been really serious of late, with fascists, racists, all sorts of monsters, getting a mention.
So… I am asking the people of PR past-and-present who have fond memories of Mo’s to leave a comment at the bottom of the post and share your feelings for the big man with the deep fryer. In a month or so I shall print off your comments and present them to Mo as a little gift, as I love him like he is part of my family. Well sort of.
I’ll take a photo of the presentation and let you know what he said.
P.s. mine is a Fish Balm please with salt and vinegar
Mo…
Could remember everyone’s name and order, day after chip-filled day.
And a great destination for star-spotting: it was there I saw the unholy alliance of the late Tony Wilson and Derek Hatton, planning world domination over a cooked breakfast.
Flash delis come and go; the one constant is Mo
I was at Staniforth and Mo’s was a staple part of our business life.
Pretty much every morning, someone would yell “CHIPPY!” across the office to let everyone know they were taking breakfast orders, and would nip round the corner with the usual orders of bacon on toast and bacon barms.
The place was always staffed with fantastic characters including the lovely girls behind the counter, who I’m certain were the inspiration for Coronation Street’s Becky…
However it was always the Mo show and he was always highly entertaining. He greeted all the female regulars with a “Hello my darling” and no matter what you ordered his response would be “cheeeps?” (Shorthand for “would you like chips with that?”)
Anyone who knows Mo will know he is a huge Manchester United fan. I remember being in the chippy one afternoon when Fenerbache were in town to play in the Champions League. A large group of their fans were crossing Deansgate outside and Mo, heedless of their fans’ reputation for being scary, flung open the window at the front of the shop and screamed “ROONEY – ROONEY – ROONEY” at them… luckily they looked over, looked a bit bemused, and carried on walking.
Mo was beside himself the day David Beckham pitched up to be filmed in the neighbouring deli for the British Olympic bid, and as far as I know he still proudly displays the mug that Becks drank from, as kindly donated to him by the deli guys.
Great chippy, lovely bloke – good on you Mo, long may your business continue to be successful! (Believe it or not, there was nothing like it in Didsbury when we moved out there.)
Helen Lambert, ex Staniforth (Old enough to remember the people who owned the chippy before Mo but please don’t tell anyone.)
You could get a chi-chi salad nicoise on ciabatta in the deli for £4, or a tuna salad barm at Mo’s for £1.10. And they got “proper butter” in for me because I hate spread. Of course we were all a stone heavier then…
As another former Stani interne, Mo’s was a breath of oily air in a sandwich emporium world stuffed with char-grilled this, lemon and pepper dressing that and crazy prices to match. Having a warm polysterene container on my desk oozing with chips, beans and gooey melted cheese was just heaven. I will indeed enjoy my “lonch”, Mo. Highlights, apart from the aforementioned David Beckham appearance, included Kayleigh (complete with nameplate necklace) and her mate doing a word perfect rendition of Oh My Gosh by Basement Jaxx while spreading a loaf of Sunblest best. When we upped sticks to Didsbury I had the immense honour of drafting our goodbye letter to Mo thanking him for all the chips. It is still hanging there alongside the pics of random celebs. Long live Mo! Does he know this blog exists??!!
The letter is still there, and Mo doesn’t know about this blog – yet!
James
Can’t believe none of you have mentioned Kayleigh by name, a true Mo’s legend! Service with a smile and more than a smattering of creole gold.
Then there was ‘Dave’, Mo’s nephew who was carted off by the immigration. Apparently as they tried to arrest him he attempted martial arts on them, Bruce Lee style.
Then there was the time I popped in for a late afternoon Twix and Mo offered to show me his ham slicer. It was clean and shiny, and one of my more surreal experiences of life in Little Peter Street.
I loved the place, and still pop in for chips, gravy and a barm with real butter whenever I’m in town!
Ham slicer? Oh dear.
Kayleigh is an important part of the Mo’s experience too. The bling is still on display.
Oi Appleby, pay more attention. A Kayleigh anecdote is above.