MISHAWAKA, Ind. -- Fish fries across the area are getting underway for the first Friday of Lent, but with prices for fish rising, are local eateries scaling back?
It started as a way to still serve customers during Covid.
But even though the pandemic has ended, Chicory Cafe has maintained its tradition of the drive-through fish fry.
The sustained success of the event comes as a bit of a surprise to the staff.
"We were curious about that too, as things opened back up, we continued to do them and we were very nervous about sales going down every year as people started going back to full service restaurants, and those kinds of things, but I think people got used to the convenience, the quickness, the quality product," said Jeff Morauski, Chicory Cafe owner.
Morauski tells ABC57 even with rising fish prices, he plans to keep the fish fry cost at the same price it has been the last few years.
He even had to order a bit more for today's fry, since it's the first one of the year.
"Usually the first one, our first couple are the most successful, and I think it tapers off toward the end as we get closer to easter, a lot of these guests are repeat guests, we see a lot of the same people out there every week," said Morauski.
For caterer SugarElla's in Niles, it's a bit of a different story.
They've been doing fish fries the last few weeks, even before Lent.
But the ticket sales weren't high enough to make putting on the fry worth it for owner Kim Putney, until she announced on social media that it would be the last one for the foreseeable future.
"We made the announcement on Wednesday, Instagram, Facebook, and then all of a sudden, we had sold 30 tickets, but again, I think a lot of the people that support us wanted to have one last fish fry. I think we had maybe 15 pounds prior to, and now we have 40."
Putney and her staff are actually pulling double duty tonight.
In addition to their fish fry in Niles, they're putting on a separate one on Notre Dame's campus for an event.