A WELL-KNOWN Wee County chippy has been shortlisted for a prestigious accolade.

Family-run business The Bridge Cafe, located on the Main Street in Sauchie, is no stranger to awards.

It beat out hundreds of hopefuls to place in Fry Magazine's top 50 of 2013, scooped an award for Scotland's best fish and chips in the Scottish Italian Awards 2014 and was a finalist in last year's Scottish Italian Awards.

Now, it will go up against six others to be in with a chance of being named 'takeaway of the year' in the central region, as part of The Food Awards Scotland.

Alberto Jaconelli, who runs the chip-shop with his wife Domenica and is helped by dad Luigi, is delighted with the news.

He said: "I feel very, very happy. We feel very humbled, fortunate and satisfied that customers took the time out to vote for us. We feel gratified that all our hard work is recognised on a day-to-day basis."

Voting is well underway for the awards, now in their third year, which celebrate the very best in the food sector.

The nominees, put through thanks to customers and supporters, will find out if they are triumphant during a ceremony at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow, on Monday, August 15.

The Bridge Cafe has been in the town since 1998 and Alberto reckons attention to detail and making sure there is a "personal touch" has done them well.

He said: "Customer service is right up there with the quality of the food. For me personally, there's no point having one without the other – we make it a big part of our staff training."

And it's a full-on job running the eaterie, but Alberto wouldn't have it any other way – especially when customers show their appreciation.

He said: "I'm in six nights out of seven – I take one night off a week because I'm told I have to.

"We live and breathe the business. It's not just a living for us, it's actually a way of life."

And it's all go for The Bridge Cafe – which focuses on sustainability and reliably caught Scottish fish, delivered daily – which will be introducing new species of fish very soon. 

In the meantime, Alberto wanted to show appreciation to others for their support and said: "A big thank you to my staff for the hard work they put in and the customers for standing by us."