THE smokehouse which began life in Leeds is to open its seventh restaurant in Sheffield as it embarks on its next phase of expansion.
Red’s True Barbecue will spend £900,000 to refurbish the former Café Rouge site on Ecclesall Road into a 130-seat restaurant, which will open in April.
James Douglas, co-founder of Red’s True Barbecue, said: “Brand awareness in Yorkshire is extremely strong. We’re regularly asked on social to open in Sheffield so it was just a matter of finding the right location.”
In 2015 it opened in Nottingham, Shoreditch and Liverpool after securing £5m of funding, and supported by a financing deal with Santander. The new sites added to its existing restaurants in Leeds city centre, Headingley and Manchester.
A second wave of investment, totalling £9m, will fund the opened of at least four restaurants this year, plus a further 4-6 sites in the future.
Mr Douglas added: “This is a great start to 2016 and reinforces the strength of the brand in the north. The rest of the year will see Red’s spread the gospel far and wide across the UK, establishing us a true national brand.”
Its panel of investors include former Wagamama chairman Ian Neill, former banker turned K10 Sushi restaurateur Maurice Abboudi, founder of Tortilla restaurants Brandon Stephens and Vietnamese street food chain Pho creator Stephen Wall.
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