Major fire severely damages popular restaurant

A BLACK Country restaurant has been severely damaged in a major fire overnight.

Fire crews from across the area were drafted in to deal with the blaze at the Hickory’s Smokehouse in Wall Heath, outside Dudley.

At its height, 12 fire crews were tackling the incident and the main A449 Wolverhampton Road was closed in both directions between the A4101 Lodge Road junction and the B4178 Swindon Road junction to allow them to deal with the incident.

Drivers have been advised to avoid the area if possible and delays are already being reported.

The restaurant, which had a thatched roof, is in what was formerly The Kingfisher Country Club, a popular entertainment venue in the 1960s and 70s, when it played host to many of the popular bands of the time.

The fire, the cause of which is unknown, is thought to have caused hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage.
Hickory’s acquired the restaurant last year and stripped back the building to its original features.

The extensive refit was completed in November last year and when the restaurant opened it created 60 jobs.

The restaurant was preparing for a busy Bank Holiday weekend with diners looking to make a reservation for Monday being told of a two and a half hour wait for an unreserved table.

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