A Birmingham fish and chip shop owner has served up a hefty slice of nostalgia, offering chips for just 20p and attracting hundreds of queuing schoolchildren in the process. Nassar Iqbal, who runs the Hot Spot in Billesley, rolled back the decades for a special promotion this week.
A Taste of the 80s for a New Generation
On Wednesday, 14th January 2026, Nassar, affectionately known as 'Uncle Nas' to his many followers, launched a two-hour throwback deal. Between 3pm and 5pm, any child in school uniform could get a cone of chips for the 1980s price of just 20p, a stark contrast to the usual £1.50. The queue snaked around the block as youngsters flocked to experience a cheap after-school treat their parents might remember.
Nassar, who has run the shop for 22 years since 2004, said the idea came from his social media interactions. "The kids that follow us on TikTok have absolutely no idea that chips back in the day used to cost just 20p," he explained. He reminisced about sneaking out at lunch in the 80s for that exact same affordable snack with extra salt and vinegar.
Viral Success Meets Harsh Economic Reality
The promotion was a resounding success, driven in part by Nassar's popular TikTok account, which has amassed nearly 30,000 followers. He described the response as "amazing," strictly offering just chips, salt, and vinegar to keep the experience authentic. However, the event also underscored the severe pressures facing the traditional British fish and chip shop.
Nassar was forced to limit the offer due to skyrocketing costs. He highlighted the soaring prices of potatoes, oil, gas, and cod as major threats to the industry's survival. "The traditional chippy is just not trendy any more," he lamented, noting that younger consumers often prefer options like smash burgers or peri peri chicken.
More Than Just a Cheap Snack
For Nassar, this was about more than a viral marketing stunt. It was a mission to reconnect a generation with a simple, iconic British pleasure. "Chips are typically a grown-up thing now," he observed, "and that is why I wanted to show youngsters what they are missing out on." The long queue of excited children proved his point, offering a brief but powerful revival of a community ritual that many feared was fading away.
