A restaurateur’s first permanent venture is set to open as he promises punters “proper smoked meats” at his new barbecue joint.
Shane Giles, 36, and his partner Natasha Roper will be opening Red’s Brisket Pit next week in Park Avenue, Deal.
The dad-of-four first began smoking meats during the pandemic in 2021, before biting the bullet and running events out of a converted shed in his garden for deliveries, even needing to purchase a larger grill to keep up with the high demand.
Things progressed to running a food stall at local festivals, but soon Mr Giles’ focus shifted to finding a long-term home and offering something different in Deal.
The couple picked up the keys to the new venture on September 1, originally hoping to open at the end of October, but delays during renovations meant progress slowed on getting the site up to scratch.
Mr Giles, who also runs a groundworks company, said: “Obviously, we anticipated opening much earlier, and I think we had good intentions, but delays with deliveries, a few contractors let me down, and a few things went wrong.
“I’ve basically been doing around 18-hour days, with loads of overtime at the shop from evenings, weekends. It’s been really stressful.
“Now, I just want to focus on getting the sit-down spot started before we think about deliveries. We need to run before we can walk.
“Consistency is key in food, and keeping the level of quality the same.”
The name for the restaurant was inspired by his eldest daughter, Frances, with Big Red being Mr Giles’ nickname.
Now, Wednesday, March 11, is earmarked for the grand opening.
Alongside his two businesses, Mr Giles is also busy looking after his children, after his partner Natasha had a brain tumour removed last year.
“My partner and I have always said we wanted a restaurant, never thinking it would be smoked meat”, he said.
“We’d been looking for two years when this shop became available, and it wasn’t really the right time because of everything my partner was going through, but we are nearly there now.”
Customers will be able to expect barbecue staples like short ribs and brisket, as well as spatchcock chickens and Texas-style meat-sharing platters.
A two-day process can be necessary to prepare each brisket, from unboxing, trimming the fat, and rubbing with an in-house spice rub, all before cooking in the smoker, which for a 5kg brisket could take around 10 hours.
Mr Giles also said plans are underway to add smoked cocktails to the menu.
“It’s going to be proper decent grub, not takeaway style food, it’s going to be a bit more a la carte, and we’re trying to put a bit of our own twist on a few items where we can,” he added.
“I’ll be there doing the smoking side of things, with someone in the kitchen working alongside me on the prep work.
“Eventually, I’m hoping I can then start pulling away once they’re savvy on the smoker.
“I’m not giving up groundworks. It’s my bread and butter money, and I enjoy it.
“Until this is up and running properly and actually earning money, I can’t be giving anything up, and I’ve built a good reputation in the area.
“But there’s been a lot of interest, and we’ve already taken quite a few bookings.”
Mr Giles said he will soon fire up his smoker for the first time since August for a test run and is excited to finally get back to cooking meat.
