A popular Wall Heath restaurant, destroyed by a devastating fire in August 2016, is set to rise like a phoenix from the ashes later this year.

Work has begun on rebuilding Hickory’s Smokehouse after a fridge electrical fault sent the thatched building up in flames. Business bosses have said the restaurant will make an impressive comeback, with the team promising an “exciting” new design that will take the smokehouse offering to a “whole new level”.

General manager Kris Perrin and his staff are counting down the days until the new restaurant opens in mid-to-late July. He said:

“The team were all pretty gutted following the fire but we have managed to keep the majority of them busy over the past few months helping out across our sister sites and they cannot wait to unveil the new look restaurant to all our wonderful guests later in the year.”

The new incarnation of the smokehouse is being re-built in the same spot, back in place of the historic Kingfisher Club, which in the past has played host to some of the biggest names in entertainment – including The Beatles.

The southern style restaurant proved a big hit with locals since it reinvigorated the site, with staff saying they were overwhelmed by the levels of support they received from the community.

“We just knew we had to rebuild here in Wall Heath,” Kris added. “We feel we owe it to all of the people who have supported us to give them something amazing back in return.

“The new restaurant is really going to be something else. We have learnt a lot of valuable lessons and refined our brand over the past few months and we just hope that our loyal Midlands guests love what we have in store as much as we do.".