Plans for new Hickory’s Smokehouse in North East Wales lodged with council
Developers say changes to The Squire Yorke in Wrexham will be a “leap forward” for the venue via “relatively small extensions and refurbishments”.
Our sister site Wrexham.com broke the news that a Hickory’s was confirmed back in April, and now the plans are formally lodged with Wrexham Council.
At the time a Greene King spokesperson confirmed the Squire Yorke was be transformed into a Hickory’s Smokehouse for Wrexham.
Now, the plans reveal how the 856 square meter site will look with “…refurbishment and rebranding of the premises for Hickory’s combined with a single storey front extension and side open veranda.
They state, “The rebranding includes the addition of timber cladding to areas of the building though the main brick and tile materials in the extension will match the existing materials of construction.
The redevelopment proposals explain, “The present layout of the premises requires some updating to reflect workplace changes in both the kitchen and public areas of the building.
“The current layout provides for 201 covers, however, the internal area of the pub/restaurant is dated and in order to become more efficient and allow more comfortable space for customers and staff a front, single storey extension is proposed.
“This extension will allow for the back of house to be enlarged to create a modern kitchen arrangement, which will interact with the front of house area, and be up to date with health and safety standards.
“The current kitchen extraction arrangements will be retained and upgraded with more modern and efficient internal equipment installed. The existing toilet facilities will be retained as is.
A small, timber open sided veranda is also proposed to provide a smoking area for customers.
“There is an increase in floor area with the extension to the pub however, the number of covers will be reduced to 198 due to the internal back of house size increase and the extra overall space given to the customer area.
“In addition to the changes in the main building the adjacent Wacky Warehouse is to be modified internally. Currently there are difficulties with storage and deliveries to the site. To facilitate a more efficient delivery/storage process an area of approximately 25% of the Wacky Warehouse is to be removed from public use and used as a back of house facility.
As is standard with applications, the final positive flourish notes, “The proposed development is seen as a leap forward for The Squire Yorke, bringing it up to date and providing for an operator that is great demand around the country. The relatively small extensions and refurbishments will enhance the offering to the local community without causing any detriment to public or private amenities. The development also fully complies with the provisions of the extant development plan.”
The first ever Hickory’s is located 11 miles north of the planned Wrexham site, at The Groves in Chester, that opened back in 2010.
Since then Hickory’s has grown into a leading authentic BBQ smokehouse restaurant operator in the UK, with 17 restaurants across the Midlands and North West. It is a family friendly smokehouse and BBQ restaurant, with a strong focus on food quality with meats slow cooked for up to 12 hours in smokers specially imported from the southern states.
Guests are offered unique dining experiences within the restaurant, from chef’s bars to wraparound verandas, and children are equally looked after with their own cinema rooms and outside play areas. The Chester location is famed for it’s NFL Superbowl party, and sports bar setup.
In October 2022 it was announced that Greene King was investing in Hickory’s to help build it into a national dining brand – and part of that involved Greene King identifying sites it already owns in its estate that would be a perfect fit for Hickory’s.
The Squire Yorke is one such location, being a Greene King pub.
Greene King have said that when the conversion to Hickory’s takes place it is expected to significantly increase the number of people employed at the venue.
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