A new restaurant by an award-winning chef is set to open in the former Fraiche site.
Popular restaurant Fraiche confirmed its closure this month, with chef patron Marc Willkinson leaving Merseyside for the West Midlands. The Oxton venue has long been praised for its "unusual" and distinctive cuisine, and was Merseyside's only Michelin-starred restaurant.
Those craving high end culinary delights needn't be disappointed, with award-winning chef Andrew Sheridan taking over the venue with his newest restaurant.
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Sheridan and his business partner Sam Morgan of the Open Restaurant Group have acquired the property, which is based just a few miles from where Sheridan grew up. Set to open in May, former Fraiche will be transformed into an upmarket neighbourhood bistro named Restaurant OXA.
It'll be in the same style as the group's Michelin-listed Black & Green restaurant which opened in Barnt Green, Worcestershire, in 2021. Work on Restaurant OXA, a name derived from Old Norse word Oxa-tún which represents the word Oxton, has already started, with the venue expected to create nine new jobs.
The business partners are no stranger to success, with Sheridan being the holder of three AA Rosette awards. On April 19, the pair are opening a new flagship restaurant in the city centre, Restaurant 8 by Andrew Sheridan, and it's all systems go ahead of its launch.
Businessman Sam Morgan, 40, spoke to the ECHO about their plans and what they hope the new restaurant will bring to the quaint village. Detailing the acquisition of the new restaurant - which came about quicker than usual for the team - Sam, from London, said: "It came about because the agents who looked after us for the city centre site [Restaurant 8] mentioned the other site had become available.
"We knew the site, it's got history as being a fine dining restaurant, Mark [Wilkinson]'s done very well here for the last 20 odd years, so we knew it would fit what we wanted to achieve with our expansion plans.
"I don't think we'd have looked to add another site this quickly but, sometimes, sites come along that are so great that we move on them a little quicker than we normally would." The floor is currently "being levelled" at the venue, as it's transformed into a "quite stripped back" setting, with Nordic and Scandinavian design elements. Sam added: "It should be quite a vibrant affair."
Of what diners can expect from Restaurant OXA, Sam said: "Our focus is primarily on British produce - we are looking for this to be high end, high quality, but a little bit more accessible. This is going to be a lot more flexible in its format - a lot of our other restaurants are quite rigid in terms of the menu format but guests with different tastes and dietary requirements will have that flexibility."
Chef Andrew Sheridan will be "keeping a watchful eye" on the Oxton restaurant, and when his new eponymous city centre restaurant - which is a "Wednesday to Saturday operation" - is closed, he will likely be based at OXA, particularly on Sundays.
Sam said: "We want to encompass the family affair with our Sunday lunch. It seems like lots of people from the local area are keen to support businesses from Oxton so we're looking forward to welcoming people from the area and beyond."
Andrew Sheridan, who was a winner in the Welsh heat of BBC's Great British Menu in 2019, said: "It is a dream come true to open a restaurant in the village I grew up in."
The restaurant will be based at 11 Rose Mount, Oxton, Birkenhead, Prenton, CH43 5SG. It's expected to open the week commencing May 1, 2023.
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