1970s fish and chips chain Arthur Treacher's to make central Ohio return

Yahoo

13-06-2025

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A central Ohio fish and chips eatery is closing to make way for the return of Arthur Treacher's, a chain attempting a comeback after shuttering hundreds of U.S. locations years ago.
Marino's Seafood Fish & Chips at 1216 W. Fifth Ave. near Grandview Heights is closing as owners Harry and Rosemarie Kougendakis retire this month, Columbus Business First confirmed on Wednesday. The Kougendakis family has operated the eatery under the Marino's brand since 1992.
Pride on High viewing area to benefit Columbus LGBTQ+ groups
However, the location will continue serving up hush puppies and fried fish as Arthur Treacher's moves in to take over. The ownership change is a homecoming for the Arthur Treacher's brand, which operated the West Fifth Avenue building as a location in the 1980s before it became Marino's.
The Kougendakis family told Columbus Business First that discussions between the brands began earlier this year and that many from the Marino's staff are staying to work under Arthur Treacher's. The new owners didn't respond to NBC4's request for comment.
The announcement comes after Arthur Treacher's began welcoming customers this spring to a reopened third location in Cleveland Heights at 13216 Cedar Road, which was home to an Arthur Treacher's from the 1970s to the 1990s. The chain had announced the eatery's relaunch last August, and held a grand opening celebration on April 1.
How a small town was revamped into 'Ohio's most loveable downtown'
'That store was always such a nostalgic location for the brand and the business, and it just came up in conversation with ownership and the opportunity was available for us,' Christian Burden, Arthur Treacher's marketing director, told NBC4's Cleveland-area sister station last fall.
Arthur Treacher's launched in 1969 out of Columbus and offered fish and chips, fried chicken, clam chowder, hush puppies and more. The chain was named after the British actor who starred in a series of movies in the 1930s and in 1964's 'Mary Poppins.'
The fish and chips chain reached its peak in the late 1970s with more than 820 locations across the nation, but bounced between several owners. Lumara Foods of America purchased the chain in March 1982, then filed for bankruptcy four months later.
Black bear spotted in Licking County for the first time in over two decades
Chapter 11 proceedings and additional ownership changes throughout the following decades dwindled the brand to two locations, which remain open today, also in northeast Ohio at 12585 Rockside Road in Garfield Heights and at 1833 State Road in Cuyahoga Falls.
All three Arthur Treacher's locations are open 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.