Rival chip shop-owning brothers call each night 'to see who's taken the most'

Two brothers who both run award-winning fish and chip shops have spoken of the "healthy" rivalry they enjoy, saying they "ring each other every night and see who's taken the most".

Ouday Hikary, 43, runs Hikary's Fish Bar in Neath, Neath Port Talbot, while his older brother Emir Hikary, 46, runs Hiks, which is just 10 miles (17km) away in Swansea.

Both businesses have been named in the 2026 top 50 takeaways in the UK, which is put together by fish and chip shop industry trade publication Fry Magazine.

The brothers said they were "proud" of the work the other had done.

Emir first got into the industry after being made redundant from his job in a call centre, using his redundancy money to buy a van and sell fish and chips opposite Ouday's pub in Swansea.

When the pub closed, the brothers opened Hiks together out of the same building in 2010, and a year later Ouday branched out by opening his own fish and chip shop in Neath.

He went on to win the Wales category of the National Fish and Chip Awards in 2016.

"He's my brother and I'm so proud of what he has achieved and if he does really well I'll be the first one to cheer him and be his biggest fan," Emir, who has five children, told BBC Radio Wales, to which Ouday responded: "I'm so proud of you."

Running the business is a family affair for father-of-four Ouday, with his wife Kasia doing admin for the business and three of his children also helping out.

He said he loved running his fish and chip shop as "every day is different" and he enjoyed the banter with the customers and being part of the community.

Ouday said it was good to have won the award during what was a challenging time to run such a business, with the high cost of fish, coupled with factors such as the cost of living crisis.

Emir said: "We haven't had things handed on a plate to us.

"We worked together when we first started off and we have to work really hard."

He said he was "very happy" that he and his brother had won the awards adding they were proud of their staff for the key role they played in the win.

The brothers will receive a plaque which they plan to put in pride of place above the range in their respective shops.

Emir said they wanted to thank fellow fish and chip shop owners at the Roma Fish Bar in Gorseinon, Swansea, saying they had supported them right from the beginning and "they have always been there for us".

Both businesses have been previous winners in the top 50 UK takeaways awards, with Hiks also reaching the finals of the Wales category of the National Fish and Chip Shop Awards in 2020.