Time up for sports bar as Sheffield group expands
Champs Bar and Restaurant,Eccclesall Road
CHAMPS bar and diner in Ecclesall Road has been taken over by the fast-expanding Sheffield-based BrewKitchen group.
The landmark restaurant – which was the city’s first sports bar when it opened in 1995 – is due to close next month for a six-figure redevelopment.
It is expected to reopen after Easter with a new look and concept.
And the new owners have revealed that this is only one of five potential acquisitions currently in the pipeline.
BrewKitchen, a partnership between Thornbridge Brewery and the restaurant group run by chef Richard Smith, includes leading local venues such as Artisan at Crosspool, the Cricket Inn at Totley and Relish in Ecclesall Road.
Last year was its most successful ever, notching up a projected turnover of around £11m.
Director Simon Webster said: “2011 was a tough trading period for many in our sector but we came out of it with our strongest figures yet – and we have identified 2012 and 2013 as a period of further growth.
“We are currently in advanced negotiations for four further sites in Sheffield and north-east Derbyshire.”
For the moment, he is remaining tight-lipped about the identities of other pubs being considered.
Champs was a ‘first’ for Sheffield when it opened in 1995, a partnership between real ale boss Dave Wickett and former Sheffield footballer David Ford.
An American-style restaurant and cocktail bar, it featured booth seating, a vast three-sided bar and more than 30 television sets suspended from vantage points. It also boasted an impressive collection of sports memorabilia including the canopy of Damon Hill’s Brabham, Dicky Bird’s white coat and Prince Naseem’s shorts.
Thornbridge Brewery founder Jim Harrison bought out David Ford a couple of years ago and tried to take the restaurant upmarket – but the changes met a cool reception and six months later, chicken wings and fajitas were back on the menu.
Now Dave Wickett, who has bone cancer, is retiring and Mr Harrison and his BrewKitchen partners want to bring the business into their expanding group.
“We see it as a great opportunity to build a new business on what is rapidly becoming a new type of Ecclesall Road,” said Mr Webster. “With the arrival of Marks & Spencer, Sheffield’s top hairdresser and a flagship Pizza Express, the old ‘golden mile’ has had a breath of fresh air and we want to add to that.
“Champs has been a phenomenon over the last 15 years but we think the area has moved on and we will be offering something more in keeping with the current vibrant community.”
The restaurant will run until the middle of March, when it will close for redevelopment. The memorabilia will then be sold off in a high-profile charity auction.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sheffield
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 10 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North east
Comments
There are 2 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
scratch`
Friday, March 16, 2012 at 12:24 AMI've stopped drinking his beer - so there's no way I'll eat his scoff. That's assuming that we'll still have a cholce, the way this bunch are buying every thing up.
mkmky
Thursday, March 8, 2012 at 11:55 PMIs Emma Harrison bank rolling this with our taxpayer money that her company A4E defrauded the taxpayer and the unemployed out of?
Page 1 of 1
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.