Popular fish and chip shop ready to take on its next challenge

The Trident Fish and Grill is a fourth generation family business who are opening a second store in Lismore.

It will be on Keen Street and will take over from where Red Rooster operated from.

The business has a long history which dates back to its original store in the UK in 1984.

Owner Chris Photiou grew up at Pearces Creek after his family brought the business to the Northern Rivers in 2001.

It was a popular spot under the Big Prawn at Ballina before reinventing itself at Alstonville in 2019.

"My dad worked with his parents in the fish and chip industry in the 1970s," Mr Photiou said.

"It's a long history and one we're really proud of.

"I don't think it will stop at Lismore, down the track we'll look at a franchise model."

The Trident team are no strangers to Lismore.

It closed its doors and joined volunteers to coordinate the Alstonville Evacuation Centre after the floods in 2022.

Mr Photiou said the original plan before the floods was to take over the Grill Shack in Lismore.

"We've always believed in Lismore. It's a very community-orientated town where the people support each other," he said.

"This is what we've been waiting for.

"We needed a space where parking wasn't going to be an issue and a big enough site for what we want to do."

Mr Photiou expects to hire about 45 staff with a focus on supporting juniors.

"If everything goes to plan we'll be open by June," he said.

"Alstonville has been running on its own for the past six months.

"We wanted it to be self-sufficient before we went anywhere else."

Chris, 29, started in hospitality 15 years ago when his family managed Eagle Boys pizza stores across the region.

He said Trident only uses Australian wild caught seafood with its sauces, desserts and salads all made on site.

"We only deal with Australian wild caught seafood and our business model allows for a lot of career progression.

"We provide a lot of training and support for our junior staff, when they move on to further employment they have the communication and skills they need."