Award-winning Peak District chip shop loved by celebrities marks 100 year anniversary
“We’ve had some great celebrities visit over the years”
An award-winning chip shop in the Peak District which has been frequented by a number of celebrities is celebrating its 100th anniversary - while continuing to focus on their traditional values and strong sense of community spirit.
Toll Bar Fish & Chips at Stoney Middleton, near Eyam, has been serving up food to hungry customers for 100 years.
Pete Grafton has owned the business for almost a decade - and expressed his gratitude to those who have continued to support them.
Pete said: “100 years ago, someone decided it was an ideal location for a chip shop, based on the road where it is. That was an excellent decision at the time, and it still is a great position for a chip shop. We’re on a busy main road, so we’ve got easy access to all the local villages that we serve, and we’ve got people passing through too.
“We’ve owned it for nine years, and there have been lots of owners over the years. We can’t understand why there have been so many, because we absolutely love it. You’ve got fantastic people living close by - we couldn’t wish for better customers.”
Pete said that the traditional lifestyle in this part of the Peak District was a factor in the continued success.
He said: “It’s a friendly place, the people that live in the surrounding area still live a more traditional village life. I remember growing up in the 70s, and we used to have fetes, carnivals and things like that in all the local villages. In the villages where I live around Chesterfield, all that kind of thing tends to have stopped. In the Peak District, they’re still doing all these things - there’s a carnival at Eyam and they have the well dressings in Stoney Middleton - which are celebrating 90 years in 2026.
“You have a really nice traditional village life here, and the chip shop is central to that. We have customers who have been coming into the shop for 50 years. They come in every week and they’re our lifeblood, they keep us going in the winter when there’s no tourists. They’ll be from the same families that the shop has been feeding for 100 years now. You’ve got the local farming community, the local wallers who are out repairing walls across the Peak District, and professionals who live here and commute out to Sheffield and Manchester.
“It’s those traditional values that have kept it going, I think. We don’t do things that are happening in cities and towns - we have no internet service and we aren’t doing Deliveroo or anything. Everyone congregates at the chip shop - we see the same customers, they come in at the same time to meet the same people and talk about their families or what they’ve been up to. If we started doing things on the internet, I think you’d lose that community spirit, which is so strong.”
Toll Bar also has a focus on producing high-quality food with local ingredients - and has maintained their traditional methods over the years.
Pete said: “It’s those values that we stand for, as well as good-quality, local food. The potatoes are supplied by the Hall Farm in Old Brampton, and they’re farmed locally. We steep our own peas overnight too. There’s been big pushes in our industry to move towards frozen chips and peas. That makes it easier and faster, but we don’t do that. In a couple of weeks when the new potatoes come out of the field, they’ll be delivered that morning, we’ll rumble and chip them that morning, and we’ll be selling them that afternoon and evening. That’s all within a few miles of the chip shop, and I think that’s fantastic. We’ve not got huge fees for transporting these potatoes, we’ve not got people processing frozen food in factories. It’s 100 years of tradition that we absolutely love and we’re keen to keep that going.
“The industry is focusing more on being able to order on the internet and offering deliveries. We don’t offer these things. We know that’s right for a lot of places, but our chip shop doesn’t fit that model. We want to stay at the centre of our community and know the people who are coming here. The local community really looks after each other. We get people coming in to take chips home for an elderly neighbour who can’t get themselves to the chip shop any more.”
Toll Bar has also attracted a number of famous faces - with the likes of Liam Gallagher and Jarvis Cocker having visited Stoney Middleton to try the food on offer.
Pete said: “We’re very popular and we’ve had some great celebrities visit over the years. We don’t always publicise who is coming in, but there’s lots of people who come to see us on a regular basis who are really nice and friendly customers.”
Harry, Pete’s son, is now in charge of running Toll Bar Fish & Chips on a day-to-day basis. Pete praised the team - who have stayed with the business for a number of years as well.
He said: “The staff have all been there for years, from pretty much since I bought the chip shop. They stay because we’re a team and we look after each other, and they enjoy working with us. We have Harry, AJ, Lance, James and Sophia. They all know the customers well, they know what people have each week and we get it to them just as they like it.”
The chip shop will be marking its 100th birthday on Saturday, August 1 - with the Hathersage Brass Band playing outside between 6.00pm and 7.00pm.
Pete said: “We’ll be going round with chocolates, biscuits and cakes - we’re always doing things like that. We give out mulled wine and minced pies at Christmas, and we have the brass band down three times a year.”
Pete added that the entire team at Toll Bar are invested not just in the chip shop, but the community that surrounds it - something he hopes will continue for many more years to come.
“The business has survived for 100 years because we have traditional values, with good food and local produce, and we truly care - we absolutely love it. I can’t emphasise enough that we love everything about the chip shop and the local community.
“When someone has got something wrong with them, Harry will pick something up for an older lady or gentleman who can no longer get to the supermarket. You’re a little bit isolated up there and you haven’t got the access to everything that you have in Chesterfield. That’s why people like us and they keep coming back.
“If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. London, Birmingham and Manchester can run at 100 miles per hour and do everything online, but let them have that life, and we’ll carry on as we have done for the last 100 years - and long may it continue.”