Popular barbecue restaurant could be resurrected months after shock closure

A popular barbecue restaurant in Nottingham city centre which unexpectedly closed earlier this year could be set to reopen if a new licensing application gets the thumbs up.

Red’s True Barbecue opened at 11 Queen Street in 2015. The premises was previously occupied by the entertainment retail chain, Fopp.

According to Nottinghamshire Live, Tokyo Industries, which operates Red’s True Barbecue, is looking to “reopen the site but pivot the business” to guarantee its future.

In February, a notice posted outside the Nottingham venue said Red’s would be closing “for the unseeable future” due to business costs and the cost-of-living crisis.

However, Tokyo Industries still holds the lease at Queen Street, and has now proposed to revive its Nottingham branch with one “major change”, Nottinghamshire Live says.

Should the council approve its licensing application, the venue will be able to serve drinks to non-dining customers for the first time. The restaurant’s previous license stipulated that customers could only be served if they were visiting for a meal.

Red’s True Barbecue currently has venues in Bradford, Headingley, Huddersfield, Hull and Leeds. The chain’s eatery in Shoreditch closed in 2018 while its Manchester site bit the dust around the same time as the Nottingham restaurant.

Styling itself as an “Authentic American Smokehouse”, Red’s True Barbecue offers a range of smoked meats, burgers, wings, rubs and dips and some plant-based options.