Hickory's Smokehouse Northampton: provisional hours, 100 jobs and a major revamp at the former Lakeside pub

Provisional opening hours, a lakeside revamp and what it means for Northampton

The old Lakeside pub by the A428 Bedford Road is getting a new life: Hickory's Smokehouse is moving in, bringing slow-smoked brisket, stacked burgers and a sizeable jobs boost. The owners have filed for extended licensing hours, signalling late-evening trade once doors open. While a final date hasn’t been published, the fit-out is underway and recruitment has started.

So what does “extended hours” actually mean? The licensing paperwork usually covers alcohol sales and late-night refreshment beyond standard pub times. In plain terms, the company wants the option to serve into the late evening, particularly on weekends. Exact hours will be confirmed after the council signs off the licence and the team completes training, but expect a seven-days-a-week schedule running from lunchtime through late night, with longer hours on Fridays and Saturdays. Food service typically winds down earlier than the bar, a pattern you see across the chain’s other sites.

For neighbours, longer hours often raise predictable worries: noise at closing time, parking pressure and delivery traffic. The licensing process is exactly where those concerns get weighed up. Conditions like door staff at peak times, no outdoor music after a set hour, clearer signage for taxis and ride-hails, and limits on late deliveries are common tools used to keep the peace. The brand will need to show how it plans to manage all that on a waterside plot that draws families during the day and diners at night.

The transformation of the building is significant. This isn’t a quick lick of paint. Expect a full smokehouse makeover inside and out—new kitchen equipment, smoke pits, booth seating, and a bar geared for cocktails and American taps. The company typically leans into Southern U.S. touches—neon, distressed wood, sports on screens—without losing the family-friendly feel. The lakeside setting helps: it’s the kind of spot that can do brisk early dinners and busier late slots on weekends when groups come for platters and games on TV.

100 jobs, big-ticket roles, and a menu built around the pit

On staffing, the numbers are punchy: up to 100 jobs at this one site. The headline vacancies are already live. A General Manager role is advertised at up to £43,000 a year including tips, and the Head Chef position is listed at up to £45,000 plus an uncapped bonus. The pitch is straightforward—run a high-energy kitchen built around fresh prep and slow-cooked meat, and lead a front-of-house team that can handle busy weekend peaks without slipping on service.

Beyond those two posts, the bulk of hiring will cover chefs, pit crew, bartenders, servers, hosts, and cleaners, with a mix of full-time and part-time hours. Training usually starts weeks before opening so new hires can learn the menu, food safety, allergy protocols, and the chain’s way of doing things—batch smoking, carving, and holding so the meat hits the table tender, not dry. For many, that kitchen experience is the draw; wood smoke and long cooks are a different rhythm from a fry-led line.

The menu is the pull. Hickory’s core is authentic American BBQ: Texas-style brisket smoked low and slow, baby back ribs with a sticky glaze, pulled pork that spends hours in the pit. The Smokehouse Platter is the crowd-pleaser, a mix of meats with sides that usually include slaw, pickles, and fries. Burgers get plenty of space—think Southern Fried Chicken and a hefty “Go Big or Go Home” stack for the brave. You’ll find the usual comfort-food back-ups—mac and cheese, wings, cornbread—and a few lighter dishes, because not everyone shows up for a meat marathon. Kids’ menus and high chairs are standard across the brand, which matters for a family-heavy location like this.

Pricing will aim for that middle ground: higher than a traditional pub, lower than a special-occasion steakhouse. That’s where the chain has built its following. The sweet spot is group dining—families, birthdays, work nights out—because platters and sharers feel like value when a table splits them. If the licensing goes the way management hopes, expect “late but not rowdy” to be the vibe: food-led early, bar-led later, with sport on big screens to keep the energy up on game nights.

Zoom out and you see why this site matters to the owners. Hickory’s is now under Greene King’s umbrella, and the plan is aggressive: open about 10 new restaurants every year through at least 2027. Northampton slots neatly into that grid—strong road access from the A428, existing footfall around the lake, and a large building you can turn into a flagship without navigating city-centre constraints. Getting a former pub working all day, every day is also how you justify the investment in a full smokehouse kitchen.

The economic bump is real. One hundred jobs is a solid number, especially when some of those roles can be entry points for people new to hospitality. You’ll also see a ripple effect: local trades for the refit, suppliers during launch, taxi firms on weekend nights. The flip side is the usual local concerns—traffic pinches around peak dining hours and extra noise if closing spills into the car park. That’s why the licence conditions and an early show of good behaviour matter. A successful first month goes a long way with neighbours.

Timelines? The company isn’t pinning a public date to the wall yet, which is normal before a licence decision lands and the contractor hands over the keys. Recruitment suggests the team wants to move quickly—advertised senior roles typically go out six to eight weeks before target launch. That puts opening in sight, not months away. Expect a soft launch to test the kitchen and service flow, then a full opening once the crew has a few reps and feedback is baked in.

If you’re job-hunting, applications are open now for the top roles, with wider hiring to follow. If you’re a diner plotting a first visit, watch for signs on the building and local adverts; restaurants like this tend to make some noise in the week before doors open. And if you live nearby, the key document to watch is the licensing decision. That will tell you the exact trading hours, any late-night conditions, and how the venue has agreed to manage noise, deliveries and parking after dark.

When it does open, Northampton gets something different from a standard pub: a full-on American BBQ spot with enough seats to handle big groups, a long service day and a kitchen built around smoke. For this waterside plot, that mix could work—lunch for walkers, early dinners for families, and late service for the weekend crowd, all under one roof.