How a Blackpool arcade owner has sold the same £1 burger since 2006 — and why crowds still queue
In Blackpool, arcade owner Chris Higgitt has sold a deliberately simple beef burger for £1 since 2006. Despite nearly two decades of rising costs, the Las Vegas Arcade’s bargain burger draws long queues and social‑media attention.
- Low price, high volume: The £1 burger acts as a crowd magnet and drives ancillary spend in the arcade.
- Lean menu and efficiency: Simple ingredients, bulk buying and seasonal trading keep unit costs down.
- Free advertising from creators: TikTok and YouTube clips regularly send new visitors to the stall.
- Business pivot: What began as a sideline now supplies about 90% of the arcade’s income.
Who is Chris Higgitt and where is the stand?
Owner: Chris Higgitt, 58, runs the Las Vegas Arcade in Blackpool, England. The arcade includes a small burger bar that opened in 2006 after the couple struggled with weak takings. Higgitt previously worked as a processing and quality engineer and later ran a bed‑and‑breakfast with his wife, Karen.
What started as a side idea to bring in extra customers became the main draw. Higgitt says he “sat down and did the math” and decided he could sell a basic burger for £1; the food operation now supplies about 90% of the couple’s income from the arcade business (Fox News).
What you get for a pound
The Blackpool £1 Burger is intentionally simple: a bun, an English beef patty, onions and sauce. No extras, no custom orders. Higgitt keeps the menu small and fast; he also offers hot dogs, Spam sandwiches and sausage sandwiches, but the £1 burger is the headline item (Fox News).
How he keeps the price frozen
Higgitt credits several practical tactics for maintaining the £1 price for nearly 20 years:
- Low per-item cost: He estimates each burger costs about 50 pence to make (ingredients and electricity), implying roughly a 50% margin before other overheads (Fox News).
- Bulk buying: Purchasing meat, buns and supplies in large quantities reduces unit costs.
- High volume and efficiency: The £1 price is a crowd magnet; high turnover spreads fixed costs and a narrow menu keeps prep fast and waste low.
- Seasonal focus: The burger bar trades seven days a week from March through November to capture peak tourist demand.
- Social media traction: Creator videos on TikTok and YouTube act as free advertising and bring new visitors.
- No‑frills value: A stripped‑back product sells on novelty and affordability, helping the stall cope with rising input prices.
Business impact: side hustle to main income
The burger bar began as a solution to struggling arcade takings and evolved into the primary revenue stream. Higgitt estimates roughly 90% of revenue now comes from the burger operation. On busy days queues can last an hour or more, turning a simple food counter into a local landmark and tourist stop (Fox News).
“I sat down and did the math,” Higgitt says — a pragmatic, numbers‑first approach that underpins the stall’s resilience.
Popularity, social buzz and customer behaviour
“Britain’s cheapest burger” is a label that travels on social platforms. Videos and posts entice budget‑minded visitors and influencers to travel to the arcade to try the novelty. Higgitt welcomes creators because user‑made clips act like ongoing free marketing and keep fresh waves of customers coming.
The low price also encourages impulse buys. Even when customers only purchase the burger, many spend time and money in the arcade or buy other items — a cross‑spend pattern that supports the tight‑margin model.
Personal approach and management style
Higgitt’s background as a processing and quality engineer shows in his approach: careful costing, efficient flow and a pragmatic seasonal strategy. He and his wife converted a struggling enterprise into a resilient seasonal business. The atmosphere — the buzz, the queue and the opportunity for a viral photo — is part of the product.
Why this story stands out now
The £1 burger runs counter to wider trends of rising food and energy prices. A freshly cooked beef burger for £1 in a tourist town is unusual, making the story highly shareable. It serves as a shorthand for resilience, demonstrating how tight margins combined with modern free advertising can sustain small operators in tough economic times.
Implications for business, tourism and consumers
- Economic signal: Low‑margin, high‑volume models can work in tourist hubs where footfall is reliable.
- Small business lessons: Bulk buying, seasonal focus and a narrow menu are practical tactics for tight operations.
- Tourism impact: A single viral item can boost visits to neighbouring shops and attractions.
- Marketing takeaway: Short‑form video platforms can act as highly effective, low‑cost advertising.
- Consumer impact: For budget travellers, the £1 burger provides an accessible option; for other operators, it’s a reminder that deep discounts require volume and ancillary revenue.
Source notes and further reading
Core reporting and quotes on Higgitt and the burger are drawn from coverage of SWNS and a summary by Fox News. Details about price, menu, cost estimates and Higgitt’s own comments come from that reporting. Reporting supplied by Times Media Service; original interviews and details were provided to news outlets by SWNS.
Sources and further reading: Fox News coverage of SWNS reporting on Higgitt’s Las Vegas Arcade Blackpool & £1 Burger Bar
