The group behind Hickory’s Smokehouse has posted sales of £14.4m for the year ended 30 April 2016, up from £12.8m for the previous 12 months. Group EBITDA before exceptional costs was £1.33m. The results cover the first full year since Hickory’s received investment from consumer brands specialist Piper.
Hickory’s was founded in Chester by Neil McDonnell in 2010 following extensive research into the American BBQ and smokehouse sector, which included touring the southern US states in 2009. Hickory’s restaurants are renowned for their focus on food quality, authenticity and exceptional customer service. There are Hickory’s sites in Chester, West Kirby, Burton Green, Wall Heath and Rhos-on-Sea.
Since Piper’s £6m investment in October 2014, two new Hickory’s restaurants have opened in Burton Green and Wall Heath. A third opens in Castle Bromwich in February with further sites in the pipeline in the Midlands and the North. It is hoped that the Wall Heath site, devastated by a major fire in August 2016, will reopen this summer.
Said Neil McDonnell: ‘We are very happy with the latest figures and particularly encouraged by the fantastic response Hickory’s receives from guests both old and new. We look forward to bringing Hickory’s to more communities in the coming year.’