Gypsy Queen: Popular Sheffield pub to close and reopen as Hickory's Smokehouse restaurant
A popular Sheffield pub is set to close for several weeks before reopening as a restaurant.
The Gypsy Queen pub, on Drake House Lane, Sheffield, is due to shut in early March next year for a major renovation.
It is scheduled to reopen in early summer 2025 as a Hickory’s Smokehouse restaurant, bringing the flavours of America’s Deep South to South Yorkshire.
The Gypsy Queen is currently part of the Hungry Horse chain of pubs run by Greene King, which also owns the Hickory’s Smokehouse brand.
Greene King has applied to Sheffield City Council for planning permission to alter the existing building, including the addition of a single-storey extension.
There are already 25 Hickory’s venues across the Midlands, Wales and the north of England, but this will be the first in South Yorkshire.
A Hickory’s spokesperson said: “We are delighted to be coming to Sheffield – it’s been on our wish list for a while now. We already have a few restaurants in the county, but this is our first in South Yorkshire.
“Our other restaurants have been embraced wholeheartedly by the local community and enjoyed a warm Yorkshire welcome, so coming to Sheffield is genuinely exciting for us all.
“Our ambition is to create something truly special, and we are looking forward to becoming part of the community for many years to come.”
Greene King said the team at the Gypsy Queen have been notified of the plans for the venue.
The firm said that as well as ‘significant investment’ in the new restaurant, Hickory’s would be creating 100 jobs and would be actively recruiting for chefs, servers, bar tenders and managers, as well as ‘supporting current team members’.
The spokesperson added: “The team are busy putting the final touches to their exciting plans and are looking forward to sharing more details in early spring next year.”
The menu at existing Hickory’s Smokehouse restaurants includes 16-hour smoked Texas-style brisket, Memphis-style baby back ribs, and smoked brisket bourbon tacos.
The Gypsy Queen has an average rating of 3.9/5 stars from more than 1,600 Google reviews, with one customer calling it a ‘fantastic little pub’ with a ‘brilliant atmosphere’.
But some recent reviews have been less than flattering, with one person branding the service ‘appalling’, and another describing how they witnessed scenes of ‘absolute chaos’.