New site and funding push for Big Easy Bar.B.Q & Lobstershack
London-based barbecue brand Big Easy Bar.B.Q & Lobstershack is to open a new Canary Wharf site, alongside a funding campaign on crowdfunding website Crowdcube.
The 11,000 sq ft restaurant will be the third site for the group, after its first opening in Chelsea in 1991, and its second in Covent Garden in March 2014.
With 350 seats inside and 150 outside, it will become the company's flagship site when it opens in the newly-developed Crossrail Place later this year, and will have an open kitchen with a focus on charcoal and wood parilla-style grilling, a "pit room" with three two-tonne, US-built smokers.
There will also be a bar serving a wide variety of original cocktails, an oyster and raw bar, private dining rooms, live music bands every night, and an outdoors terrace with views across Canary Wharf.
The move marks a new direction for the company, as founder Paul Corrett looks to develop the business further. The plan is for future restaurants to receive investment from a crowdfunding campaign, which is aiming to raise £3m via the website Crowdcube.
Private investors will be invited to contribute to the bond with an initial investment of at least £500, for a reward of a fixed interest rate of 8% per year, or 12% in restaurant credit. Other rewards for investment include a free meal per quarter for investors who offer £5,000 or more.
A new senior management team has also come on board to help drive the company's new direction, including Noel D'Arcy (previously of Mitchells & Butlers) as managing director, Mayuri Vachhani as finance director (formerly Ed's Easy Diner, Ask Restaurants), and Kevin Todd as non-executive director (also ex-Mitchells & Butlers).
Corrett said: "As London's love of Bar.B.Q, lobsters and steaks continues, I am absolutely thrilled to have built the ultimate team to help the brand grow, starting with the opening of our next big site Canary Wharf. I hope our customers are excited about our new mini bond offering and having the chance to be part of the business."
