The Irish have some familiarity with potatoes. Irish commercial fishing has been a crucial food resource for hundreds of years. And what better place to combine them than in a seaside fish & chips shop?

In Galway, McDonaghs Fish & Chips, almost to the harbor end of Quay Street in the Latin Quarter, is a popular spot. Their fresh-battered cod and chips are not quite “to die for” and they’re close. Very close.

On an overcast, drizzly, wind-chilled Thursday afternoon, a friend and I paused our Quay Street stroll to look through McDonagh’s street-facing windows.

“Have you been in there?”, he asked.

“No, at least, not yet.”

He pointed toward the restaurant. “Do you notice anything…unusual… about what you’re seeing?”

We were quiet for a moment, taking in the scene.

“The people on the right side of the restaurant are sitting at tables in a dining room. The left side looks more like a take-away place. Self-serve. Bright and clean, no frills.”

“Spot on,” he said. “Keep going.”

Another pause.

“Well, there are separate doors to each side and the people on the take-away side look like local tradespeople and the like and the people on the right sitting at the tables have ‘tourist’ written all over them. ”

“Well done,” said my friend. “You recognize your own. Yes, same kitchen, fish, and chips…and your fellow American tourists sit on the right and pay more than the locals who sit on the left. McDonaghs do rollicking good business on both sides, never the twain shall meet.”

Nick Miller and Clarity train banks and bankers to attract and develop deeper relationships with small businesses. Many more Sales Thoughts like this and a host of other articles and resources at https://clarityadvantage.com/knowledge-center/ .