Tony is back frying at his chippy just weeks after it was ravaged by fire

Tony’s, on Leeds Road, Outwood, was damaged in a fire on Monday, December 16.

Three fire crews attended the fire at the shop, which is located in an annex on the end of a row of terraced houses, where they fought flames for more than an hour and a half.

It is believed the fire was started by a faulty extractor fan.

Though the building remained standing, the inside was badly damaged, and Tony’s has remained closed ever since.

But it reopened on Tuesday, after staff worked tirelessly to refurbish and refit the unit. 

Tony Fascione, who runs the shop with his family, said: “It’s just people I know, everybody I know has pulled in together. I wanted to be back open.

“It was five weeks and one day ago, just an accident with the extractor fan.

“But it’s like they say, out of something bad, something good comes.”

The chippy is a popular spot in Outwood and has been missed by many, with one declaring they “haven’t had fish and chips” since the fire.

Dozens of people took to Facebook to share their excitement at the return of the chippy on Monday evening.

Julie Barff said: “Had the first lot out of the fryer and very good they were, as always.”

Tony, who runs the fish and chip shop with his partner Rachel Howden, is often known as the Singing Chip Man, and was even flown to Nashville to work on his music.

His festive single, This Christmas Time, peaked at number four in Amazon’s country downloads and number one in their country new release chart when it was released in 2013, at one point selling more downloads than country music mega star Taylor Swift.