Its new owner is an established small UK chain from the West Midlands which has also made a name for itself as something of a social media sensation.
Merchants has hit the headlines recently as social media stars, with individual videos on TikTok clocking up more than 30 million views.
Owner Antony Akathiotis said he had long been a fan of both Guernsey and Beetons.
‘We have come numerous times a year for probably 15 years and we’ve always wanted a shop over there,’ said Mr Akathiotis.
‘We get our fish & chips from Beetons when we are there – it’s like a busman’s holiday, they were the best on the island. We found out they were retiring and then just been about it’s negotiating.’
His chip shops have recently found online fame, amassing millions of views of various items, from cod to chocolate being fried, and making social media celebrities of some of its staff.
‘We’ve gone viral on social media with TikTok – we’ve got a massive following,’ he said.
‘We wanted to be the chip shop of social media and it just worked – we will be doing the same when we open in Guernsey and getting the shop on all our platforms.’
Beetons, which had been run for over 25 years by Kim and Andy Ashplant, closed down in June, and there had been much speculation about what would become of it.
The Ashplants said they were very happy that the shop had now been sold as a going concern.
‘It’s taken time to go through because of a few legal things,’ said Mr Ashplant. ‘But we are very happy that its been sold to experienced and award-winning chip shop owners.’
Mr Akathiotis was full of praise for the way the Ashplants had run the eatery. He added that Beetons fans should not be worried that he would be making too many changes.
‘The name is staying. It’s going to be called Merchants@Beetons,’ he said. ‘As a family we’ve been in this game for that 50 years. We’ve got a few tweaks to make to the menu, a few different products, but were not reinventing the wheel. Andy and Kim are lovely people and did a great job there, so we want to keep their legacy going as well.’
Mr Akathiotis added that his eventual plan was to relocate to Guernsey himself.
‘I just love Guernsey, it’s a great vibe, I love the sense of community, it’s the sort of place if you work hard you do well,’ he said. ‘We have had staff in our shops for 20 years, one of them will be coming out with me as I go back and forth to get the shop up and running and then we just want to train as many people as possible out there.’
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