Hickory's Smokehouse is back in business in Wall Heath less than a year after devastating fire

Less than a year after a devastating fire burnt it to the ground, the smokehouse is back to entertain guests with its mouth-watering authentic American grub.

Work begun on rebuilding the Kidderminster Road restaurant earlier this year after a fridge electrical fault in August put the building up in smoke, but like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the restaurant has been brought back to life.

The southern style restaurant proved a big hit with locals since it reinvigorated the site and people have already been clamouring for a table at the reinvigorated restaurant, with assistant manager Alix Foster claiming customers are already booking up till the end of September.

Last week, the restaurant hosted three taster nights where almost 70 newly recruited staff – who join the 20-plus staff that worked for the branch before the blaze – put their training into practice by serving customers for the first time.

The News was invited inside the new-look restaurant to experience the differences as well as try out some of the tasty American cuisine.

The building, which has been designed from the outside to appear as close to what the historic Kingfisher Club formerly looked as possible, has been slightly extended and also now boasts larger front windows, making the restaurant look brighter and more airy than previously.

But the inside has undergone a complete design overhaul, swapping the large TV-laden booths with more intimate tables. The restaurant still includes a cinema room for the kids but there is now an outdoor yard, complete with a pair of table tennis tables.

Although the look inside has been redesigned, the much-loved menu has barely changed, so customers can still enjoy the immaculate large portions which made the restaurant a foodies dream.

Bookings can be made for the rebuilt restaurant online at www.hickorys.co.uk, or by calling 01384 928494.

Dudley South MP, Mike Wood, said he was “delighted” to attend one of the pre-opening events at Hickory’s last week.

Mr Wood said: “It has been a long haul for the company to get this popular restaurant re-built after the devastating fire last year.

“It was a real pleasure to join everyone at the pre-opening event and really good to see this extremely popular restaurant, in my constituency, back in business again.

“I was delighted to hear that Hickory's Smokehouse are employing over 100 staff which will be good for the local community.”