The above photo is from the G. Kelly’s website. The caption says: “A queue forms at a Kelly’s eel stall ca. 1940.” View more photos in their Photo Archive.
*Stop Press* Reopened late Aug 2019
The owners of this historic family business in the Roman Road say that their shop is only temporarily closed. They kindly posted the update below on Facebook:
KELLYS PIE AND MASH SHOP IN ROMAN ROAD Our shop is temporarily closed
We have closed for a restoration & partial rebuild, we expect to be re-opening during the first half of 2018. We are doing this to ensure we can remain in business long into the future.
We will be reopening, continuing our 80 year tradition, as an East London Pie & Mash shop. The shop has not been sold, and remains in the same family, as it has been since the 1950s.
The shop will remain in its current 1930s style, with many of the original features being restored. The entire shop front, including the brickwork above, will remain and be restored. The only major difference will be the addition of a customer toilet at the back where the staircase and columns are currently.
We are even hoping to uncover our original tiles, covered over in the 1980s, and return our table tops to real solid marble.
The bakehouse will be refurbished to modern standards, however, we are not changing our methods, our pies will keep be made in exactly the same way as they are now.
We are also making a promise to freeze our prices until at least 2019, pie and mash is currently £3.80, and will be £3.80 when we reopen.
Why is this necessary?
Our shop is currently split into two structures; the shop, a brick and timber building seen from Roman Road and the bakehouse to the rear, a plastic and steel shed.
The brick and timber section at the front had subsided and requires underpinning. The building next door has also subsided and is leaning towards us, this therefore requires us to add structural support to our adjoining wall. The roof also needs replacing as it is severely leaking, further damaging the structure.
The shed at the back urgently needs replacing as it was only intended to be a temporary addition. We are replacing it with a brick structure to ensure it’s longevity and thereby properly integrating it into the rest of the building.
We thank you for your patience during this period and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience and disappointment caused. We will be updating our website as the project progresses.
Sue & Neil