Reds True Barbecue

What Reds True Barbecue does

Red's True Barbecue is a privately held UK-based American-style barbecue restaurant chain founded in September 2012 in Leeds, operating a current footprint of four restaurants — the original Call Lane flagship in Leeds and three co-located food concepts inside BrewDog bars in Hull, Huddersfield, and Bradford — alongside a consumer packaged goods (CPG) retail business. The restaurants use custom Oklahoma-manufactured 300-pound-capacity smokers, hickory and apple wood, a custom wood-burning BBQ pit at each site, and 24-hour on-site smoking operations to deliver brisket smoked for no less than 18 hours, burnt ends triple-smoked, ribs for eight hours, and chicken for three hours, with all meats cooked fresh daily and never reheated. The menu, branded 'The Good Book', spans brisket, ribs, pulled pork, burgers, sausages, and dedicated vegan options, supplemented by weekday 'Lunch Worship' value menus, weekend brunch, and seasonal Christmas Feast and group-catering offerings.

The company operates under a multi-channel go-to-market: dine-in across the four UK restaurant sites, delivery via Deliveroo from Leeds and Bradford, gift cards (the 'Gift of Meat') sold in denominations of £10 to £200, and a True Believer Rewards loyalty programme. Pricing spans £7.50 (Express Lunch pit dog and fries) to £15.95 (BBQ Blowout, two courses and a drink), with bottomless-drink weekday lunch menus at £9.95 elsewhere and £10.95 at Shoreditch-equivalent positioning. Beyond restaurants, Red's has built a parallel retail arm of five proprietary BBQ sauces and a frozen 'Almighty' burger and sausage range stocked in Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Ocado, and Booths.

The company employs close to 400 people across the UK and has built brand authority through international competitive barbecue, most notably a 4th place finish out of 252 teams at the 2018 World's Championship Bar-B-Que in Houston — Red's being the only UK smokehouse group ever to compete on the world stage. Three of the four active sites are co-located with BrewDog, embedding Red's inside established craft-beer bars with 28-30 draught lines. The customer base is overwhelmingly consumer (B2C), with no enterprise software customers and no disclosed external funding.

Name

Reds True Barbecue

Legal name

Red's True Barbecue

Website

https://truebarbecue.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Red's True Barbecue is a privately held UK chain of four American-style smokehouse restaurants — founded in Leeds in 2012, with three sites co-located in BrewDog bars — plus a CPG retail line of BBQ sauces and frozen burgers in major UK supermarkets, serving casual diners nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Smokehouse Casual Dining Restaurants

NAICS

Cafeterias, Grill Buffets, and Buffets (722514)

SIC

Sausages & Other Prepared Meat Products (2013)

akta.pro primary industry

BBQ & Smokehouse Fast Casual (THAFABAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

BBQ Sauce & Marinades Manufacturing (AFAKADAH), Sausage & Ground Pork Manufacturing (Fresh & Cooked) (AFANABAF), Beef Further Processing (Cooked, Cured, Smoked, Deli, Sausage) (AFANAAAE)

Keywords

• Smokehouse restaurant chain
• BBQ restaurants UK
• Slow smoked meats
• Barbecue catering services
• BBQ sauce retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Dine-In Restaurant Sales: Revenue from on-site dining across multiple UK restaurant locations, with a fast-casual first-come-first-served model. Operating lunch worship menus (weekdays 12pm-4pm), brunch (weekends 9am-12pm), and full dinner service. Limited advanced bookings for groups of 8+.
2. Supermarket Retail Products: Five barbecue sauces and a frozen burger/sausage range ('Almighty' line) sold through Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Ocado, and Booths. Frozen range includes three burgers and two sausages. Products also available via the online store.
3. Delivery & Takeaway: Delivery orders fulfilled via Deliveroo from Leeds and Bradford locations. Takeaway and delivery supported at Hull via BrewDog's platform. In-restaurant takeaway also available.
4. Gift Cards: Red's True Barbecue gift cards ('Gift of Meat') sold online in denominations from £10 to £200, and physically at all restaurant locations. Valid for 12 months from purchase.
5. Christmas & Event Catering: Christmas Feast group bookings and Christmas Buffet offerings sold via inquiry forms and DesignMyNight. Includes dedicated vegetarian options.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Red's True Barbecue operates a chain of UK barbecue smokehouse restaurants serving slow-smoked meats (brisket, ribs, pulled pork, burnt ends, burgers) using custom Oklahoma-manufactured 300-lb smokers and a wood-burning BBQ pit. The company also retails five proprietary BBQ sauces and a frozen 'Almighty' range of burgers and sausages through major UK supermarkets and its online store, with delivery available via Deliveroo.

Product overview

Red's True Barbecue operates a chain of UK-based barbecue smokehouse restaurants alongside a consumer packaged goods (CPG) retail business. The core offering is the dine-in restaurant experience featuring slow-smoked meats, with The Good Book menu serving as the branded food and drinks catalogue. The company has expanded into retail with five BBQ sauces sold through major UK supermarkets (Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Ocado, Booths) and a frozen 'Almighty' range of premium burgers and sausages available at Tesco. Additional products include gift cards and the True Believer Rewards loyalty programme. Seasonal offerings include Christmas Feast menus and special event menus.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Smokehouse Restaurant (Dine-In) Fast-casual dine-in smokehouse restaurant serving slow-smoked meats (brisket, ribs, pulled pork, burnt ends, burgers) across multiple UK locations; first-come-first-served seating with bookings for groups of 8+.
• Retail BBQ Sauces Range Five proprietary BBQ sauces produced by Red's, available in UK supermarkets (Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Ocado, Booths) and online, for home use.
• Almighty Frozen Burgers and Sausages Premium frozen BBQ burger and sausage range inspired by Southern US BBQ, sold in Tesco frozen aisles and online.
• Gift Cards ('Gift of Meat') Pre-loaded gift cards from £10 to £200, valid 12 months from purchase; available as email gift cards online or physical cards at all restaurant locations.
• Christmas Feast Menu and Christmas Buffet Seasonal group Christmas dining offering including a sit-down Christmas Feast and a Christmas Buffet option, with dedicated vegetarian alternatives; booked via inquiry forms or DesignMyNight.
• True Believer Rewards Loyalty Programme Loyalty programme rewarding repeat customers with points and benefits for dining at Red's UK restaurants.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4th place overall out of 252 teams at the World's Championship Bar-B-Que in Houston, Texas — beating every Invitational winner
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BrewDogcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRed's True Barbecue operates its smokehouse food concept within BrewDog bars in Hull, Huddersfield, and Bradford. BrewDog handles the beer (28-30 draught lines) while Red's provides the BBQ food menu. These are Red's fourth and subsequent BrewDog co-location food concepts. Hull location is at Princes Quay floating shopping centre; Huddersfield is near the university; Bradford is centrally located near City Hall and the Alhambra Theatre.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Honest Burgers: UK fast-casual restaurant chain with regional footprint and committed sourcing narrative; directly comparable on format, scale (~400 employees class), and CPG-adjacent retail ambitions.
• Bodean's BBQ: UK-based American-style BBQ smokehouse restaurant group with multiple London sites, founded around the same era; the closest direct comp to Red's for authentic low-and-slow BBQ in the UK.
• Smokehouse: London-based BBQ restaurant brand by the Smoke & Bones team offering slow-smoked meats and BBQ comfort food, directly comparable concept in the UK BBQ segment.
• The Ribman: Independent London-based BBQ operator famous for slow-smoked ribs and brisket, comparable to Red's as a UK-only authentic American-style BBQ specialist.

Broad incumbents

• Nando's: Largest UK fast-casual flame-grilled chain with national footprint, CPG retail (sauces at major grocers), and clear brand authority — useful benchmark for unit economics, retail expansion, and brand-led growth in the UK fast-casual category.
• Five Guys: US-rooted fast-casual chain with deep UK presence and strong brand differentiation; comparable on premium-positioned UK fast-casual operations and menu-anchored positioning.

Emerging players

• Smoke & Bones: UK-based BBQ brand active in events and restaurant activations; comparable as a competitor with crossover into food events/catering and brand-led BBQ positioning.
• Wingstop: US-born fast-casual chicken brand expanding in the UK with strong unit economics and brand-led marketing; comparable on UK fast-casual expansion playbook and limited-service adjacent positioning.

Others

• BrewDog: Strategic venue partner hosting Red's food concepts at Hull, Huddersfield, and Bradford; relevant as the partnership counterparty whose commercial position directly affects Red's current expansion model.
• Wright's Food Group: UK-based prepared-food and BBQ product manufacturer serving grocery and foodservice; adjacent peer for production, sourcing scale, and UK BBQ CPG distribution dynamics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/RedsTrueBBQ
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/RedsTrueBarbecue
• Facebookfacebook.com/RedsBBQLeeds
• Instagraminstagram.com/redstrueBBQ
• TikToktiktok.com/@redstruebbq

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Reds True Barbecue