Hickory's Smokehouse confirms it will be opening this year in Hutton - months after speculation began over the Anchor Inn pub site

Even though the American-themed company has remained tight-lipped on speculation it is taking over the former Anchor Inn site in Liverpool Road, six jobs for a new restaurant in the village have now been posted on the Hickories website.

>>>What’s on the menu at Hickory’s? Click here to find out.

Under the title ‘Hickory's Smokehouse is coming to Hutton, Preston!!!’, the company has posted vacancies for a head chef, an assistant manager, floor manager, deputy general manager, sous chef and general manager.

The job descriptions include details of a £250,000 bespoke built kitchen and training opportunities with The Hickory’s Academy.

Refurbishment

Even though the company has not been drawn on the Hutton location, work to strip the former Anchor pub building out is currently underway and fencing has been placed around the perimetre.

On the pub’s now defunct Facebook Page, the former landlord even posted that he'd visited Hickory’s restaurant in Southport, commenting: "Its a winner so far could be a big success in Hutton".

Despite the work and the repeated links to the Anchor site, Hickory’s has declined to respond to enquiries this week by the Post.

When first asked about the rumours in October, a spokesman said: "We don’t have anything concrete in the pipeline for Preston at the moment although we have been looking for suitable sites in the area for some time – it’s most definitely on our wish list as we’d love to come to the area."

The closest Hickory’s to Preston is in Southport, which opened in early 2018. As well as offering southern-style food, it also has a bar, cinema room for children and outdoor eating booths.

The Anchor site

The landmark Anchor Inn at Hutton shut down at the end of October as a victim of Covid, according to landlord Peter Sutcliffe.

He later added that the pub had not been profitable for the brewery for the past five or six years.

>>>Click here for more information on why the pub closed

There has been a pub on the site since at least 1824 - it was originally called the Blue Anchor. The current building was put up in the 1930's.

At one time the owner built a dance hall next door - now the site of an Indian restaurant - and also constructed two rows of terraced houses in Anchor Drive for staff.