Opening date ‘announcement’ for Hickory’s Smokehouse

Earlier this year, Southern-style BBQ restaurant chain Hickory’s Smokehouse announced The Bystander pub in Wootton, near Abingdon, run by Greene King, will become the home of one of its new restaurants.

The new business is expected to create 100 new jobs and vacancies are being advertised for chefs, with a salary of up to £40,000 for a senior sous chef, £36,000 for a sous chef, and £33,000 for a junior sous chef.

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The pub shut in April for refurbishment but no precise opening date has yet been revealed for the restaurant.

However, contractors working on site in Besselsleigh Road said they expected the new venue to open early in September.

One worker said: “The new smokehouse should be ready to open in about 10 weeks’ time – it could be ready to open by the start of September.

“The pub building needs to have wooden cladding all around it – that’s the style for Hickory’s Smokehouse – all their buildings look like that.”

Staff at Hickory’s Smokehouse (Image: Contributed)

The chain has been busy recruiting staff and a recent advert for a senior sous chef said: “We’re looking for a senior sous chef to join our passionate brigade of BBQ enthusiasts.

“You will be responsible for running our bespoke kitchen in the head chef’s absence, and in doing so you will be working towards becoming a head chef yourself.

“You will be working with and leading the team to deliver authentic fresh food-based BBQ menu in one of the busiest restaurants in town.”

The former Bystander pub near Abingdon (Image: Andy Ffrench)

There are also branches of Hickory’s Smokehouse in Milton Keynes and Swindon.

A new smokehouse opened in Swindon last year, the first of its kind in Wiltshire, replacing a Hungry Horse restaurant.

Food is served at Hickory’s Smokehouse (Image: Hickory’s Smokehouse)

Hickory’s managing director John Welsh said earlier: “We are so excited to be heading to Abingdon.

“It’s an area that’s been on our wish-list for a while now, and we’re over the moon to finally be planning our first smokehouse in the town and our first in the wonderful county of Oxfordshire.

“We’ll be spending plenty of time getting to know the area and our ambition is to create something really special. We can’t wait to become part of the local community for many years to come.

“Across all our restaurants we love working with schools, charities, grassroots sports teams and community groups – and Abingdon will be no different.”

The first Hickory’s Smokehouse opened in 2010 in Chester, and the chain’s restaurants are now open across the North West, Midlands, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, North Wales and in other locations.

The chain said in a statement: “As the fastest growing, southern style Smokehouse group in the UK, Hickory’s is really going places and we want to take you with us.

“We look after our team and are passionate about promoting hospitality as a top career choice.

“Everything we do at Hickory’s is fuelled by our desire to deliver the best, most authentic guest experience – so every smile, every ‘nice to see you’, every ‘that’s no problem’ is just as important as every dish of food we serve and every cocktail we shake.”