He’s been the face of fish and chips in Manly for 61 years but Joe Alagich has wrapped and folded his last takeaway box and finally decided to hang-up the tongs.
A visit to Manly Fish Market usually entailed meeting a broadly smiling Joe bellowing orders to cooks in the back, nicknames flying all around, serving locals and visitors alike.
This legendary character, known to many long-term Manly residents, spent 30 years at Oceanfoods in the Corso, and 31 years around the corner in Wentworth St at Manly Fish Market. “It’s part of coming to Manly – fish and chips by the sea,” he says. “It’s something that you have to do.
“People would sometimes come back to the shop and say ‘that was the best fish and chips we’ve ever had’. That was a good feeling.”
Joe, 82, was born in Newtown but grew up in Wattle Rd, Brookvale. He began his association with battered seafood working in his wife’s family business, before they wed. Joe and Olga have been married for 60 years. They have two children, Nicole and Ryan.
“People would sometimes come back to the shop and say ‘that was the best fish and chips we’ve ever had’. That was a good feeling.”
Joe says he is going to miss the business, particularly the conversations with lovely customers. “You get your regulars,” he says. “Their orders don’t change much.”
Some of his more renowned customers have been US performer Johnny Cash, British comedian Benny Hill, radio personality Bob Rogers, NSW premier Robert Askin, and Bohemian rebel Bee Miles.
But Joe is known for more than fish and chips. He represented Australia in soccer and was in the national squad that toured South Korea in 1970.
Plus, he played for NSW in a match against a 1967 touring Manchester United squad, and swapped the No 7 jersey with famous Northern Irish footballer George Best. “I was elated to swap jerseys with him after the match. But after a newspaper shoot sometime later I put my bag on the roof of my car and just drove off. I had been talking and forgot all about it.” Best’s playing shirt was in that bag. Joe never saw it or the jersey again. He says he hasn’t slept properly since!
Moreover, for a number of years, Joe was the president of Manly Surf Lifesaving Club. This despite not being able to swim! “I was invited to join the club by my friend Bob Herring, when I came to Manly. I competed in the beach flags and the beach relay. We ended up winning a national championship in the relay.”
Manly MP James Griffin recently presented Joe with an official community recognition statement acknowledging his efforts. He said: “While his football achievements are impressive, it is Joe’s unwavering dedication to the Manly community through decades of hard work and friendly service that has come to truly define him.”
Finally, given the illustrated logo of this publication, we have to ask about his advice to customers when it comes to takeaway seafood and the local bird life?
“We used to tell people to watch out for seagulls when eating their fish and chips,” he says. “Best to head for the covered shelters.”
