Exactly why it started, no one is entirely sure. What is clear, however, is that an unsuspecting chip shop in the Midlands can now claim to have “gone viral” thanks to social media site TikTok.
Binley Mega Chippy staff in Coventry realized that something was happening when customers from all over the UK – and from abroad – began to appear in recent days.
There was a van from Dundee, and then families from Essex and Portsmouth. Someone flew in from Portugal. Another went straight there after landing from Australia.
Visitors seem to have been drawn to the fast food restaurant by a playful music video posted on TikTok, which has already been viewed more than half a million times.
“I have no idea what happened,” said Kamal Gandhi, the store’s owner. “It started to get busy on Thursday and I noticed people in front taking pictures. I just said to myself, “What are people doing?” We guess a local who likes food made the song and it just went viral.
Allow TikTok content?
This article includes content provided by TikTok. We ask for your permission before loading anything, as they may use cookies and other technologies. To see this content, click “Allow and continue”.
The song was just the beginning. He created remixes and reviews of Binley Mega Chippy, with a special focus on the bar’s “Morbius Meal” for £ 4.99. It consists of fish and chips, pea porridge and a can of soda.
Until Monday morning, there were people in line in front of the store before it opened, and many others, mostly teenagers, posed for photos under its striking red and yellow sign.
Ellie and George Foster, aged 16 and 15, traveled from Huthwaite to Nottinghamshire wearing Binley Mega Chippy Mega Fan T-shirts. “We saw him on TikTok. It’s just pretty random and that makes it funny, “Ellie said. “We made the T-shirts to wear when we came, and they gave us a free bottle of lemonade and pictures with them.
“I’m not usually a fan of fish and chips, but I had to have some for the Binley Mega Chippy.”
“Of all the things they wanted to do half-time, that was at the top of their list,” said the mother of the siblings, Claire. “We could have gone to sea, but no, they said they wanted to go to Binley Mega Chippy.”
Friends Taylor, 18, Angus, also 18, and Amir, 19, were traveling from London to try some of the chip’s food. “We were on a call this morning, laughing at the Binley Mega Chippy, and one of us just said, ‘Should we go?'” Taylor said. “I think it’s one of those things where it’s so random that it’s funny. They didn’t even make the song themselves, they have so many free commercials. “
Sign up for the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am BST
Store employees were particularly confused as they did not use social media to advertise their business. “We don’t do TikTok, we don’t do Twitter,” said Gandhi, who bought the store eight months ago, even though the chip has been there for more than a decade.
“We will not complain. We need to order more things, because if it stays that way, we won’t be able to do it. We’ll have to see how the week goes … We have to be prepared, we don’t want to run out of food. We need to attract all the staff.
“I think the news will disappear, we know that. But you never know, it can go on all summer.
He said a customer who arrived on Monday told him he had flown in from Sydney, Australia, and jumped straight into a rental car to come to Binley Mega Chippy. “We had people from Portsmouth, Essex, Dundee. We were closed on Sunday and there were still a lot of people outside taking pictures. There were 30 cars outside, “he said.
“They are all young people. Most people just want to try chips and curry sauce. But we just want to keep all our customers happy, on a regular basis. ”
“One of my friends who lives in Surrey said she really wanted to come, so I said I would come and take a picture of her,” said 11-year-old Olivia Taylor, who was visiting with her half-sister Gracie Charlton of Hatton near Warwick. “The song is everywhere – it’s crazy.”
“It’s absolutely ridiculous. It’s just that everyone is obsessed with TikTok, “said mother Rachel Charlton. “Yesterday we were in the middle of the deepest, darkest Wales in the mountains for a mountain bike race and we could hear people talking about it. So we just had to come. “
Add Comment