By Janet Wight

You could say the Como neighborhood landed a keeper when Mac’s Fish & Chips opened shop in a former Clark gas station at the corner of Larpenteur and Hamline avenues.

The small-scale, modest restaurant was established in 1991 by Tom McCarthy, who had been a professional hockey player for the Minnesota North Stars. Tom Flanagan and his father Dan Flanagan bought the restaurant in 2011.

Since Dan’s retirement earlier this year, Tom is now the sole owner of both the St. Paul and Minneapolis restaurants.

All of the fish served at Mac’s is battered and fried to order, and the “chips” (french fries) are fresh cut every day, Flanagan said.

Halibut is the most expensive item on the menu at Mac’s at $14.25 for the one-piece meal (which includes a half order of fries plus slaw) or $21.75 for the two-piece meal (with a full order of fries plus slaw).

“It is the best fish and chips that you will ever have in your life,” he asserted, but halibut is a very expensive product.

With inflation of recent years, Flanagan decided not to “play the shrinkflation game,” but instead chose to add options for budget-conscious customers.

For example, mahi-mahi was added to the menu about 18 months ago, with prices of $7.95 for the one-piece or $11.25 for the two-piece meal.

Other menu items include tacos, “better than the State Fair” cheese curds and poutine (composed of fries, cheese curds and gravy), he added.

Walleye, cod, shrimp and clams round out the offerings.

Beverages include standard fountain drinks along with Mexican Coke. Jarritos, Mexican fruit-flavored sodas made with cane sugar, are also available.

Spring is by far the busiest time of year at Mac’s due to the religious season of Lent, when fish and seafood are at their peak of popularity among customers of all backgrounds.

Mac’s rewards program has become popular in recent years. Customers placing online orders are automatically signed up to receive weekly emails containing a coupon for either a discounted or free item. Offering a robust rewards program is an important long-term strategy designed to provide real value, Flanagan said.

Running a restaurant during the height of the pandemic was a challenge.

“The COVID lockdowns just threw a monkey wrench into everything,” Flanagan explained. “The reason it didn’t affect us as much is that we are very small.”

A majority of customers opt for takeout anyway, so once online ordering was established the restaurant was able to maintain much of its pre-pandemic business, he added.

Flanagan likes to interact with customers and staff, he said, and he also enjoys “keeping it fresh” by trying out new ideas and menu items.

For further information visit macsfishchipsstrips.com. 

Janet Wight is a regular freelance writer for the Bugle.