Red’s True Barbecue turns heat on Liverpool
FAST growing restaurant group Red’s True Barbecue is set to open its sixth restaurant – in Liverpool – creating 70 jobs locally.
Red’s has taken over 53-55 Hanover Street, a former furniture shop, at the rear of the iconic Liverpool One development.
Set out over two floors the building has undergone a £1.1m transformation, creating 135 split-level covers and a standalone bar.
The design of the site is reminiscent of an old car garage with an underlying, darker ‘chop shop’ side.
A suspended truck hangs in the main restaurant, where live bands will play, overlooking the open plan kitchens, whilst a Portakabin-style waiting room with banquette seating is adorned with risqué posters.
The upstairs bar borrows heavily from 70s styling to create a tongue-in-cheek ‘men-only’ drinking den.
It is Red’s sixth site since opening its first restaurant in Leeds in September 2012. The business now employs more than 370 full and part time staff across the restaurant family.
The self-styled ‘Church of True Barbecue’, co-founded by James Douglas and Scott Munro, recently secured £5m investment deal to fund its 2015 roll out plans. The business is set to announce a secondary funding round, fueling expansion into 2016 and beyond.
Munro said: “We think the people of Liverpool have a treat in store when we open on Friday 27 November – the design of this site is our bravest creative direction to date.
“Our vision to bring true barbecue to the masses is well under way. We’re the only UK restaurant group to take an annual BBQ road trip Pilgrimage to the southern US States and it’s this obsession that helps ensure we remain authentic through and through.
“With the opening of our Liverpool restaurant we’ll now be serving more than 70,000 people and selling around 40 tonnes of meat each month across the business, firmly establish Red’s as clear brand leader in the sector.”
Red’s recently picked up the Most Admired Brand at the prestigious Peach Hero & Icon Awards in London, as voted for by the industry, beating Nando’s, Bill’s and Hawksmoor.
The Liverpool restaurant opens to the public Friday November 27.
