Saturday, January 3, 2015

More Details on Red Heat Tavern in Bedford

Existing Red Heat Tavern in Wilmington
For more details on Red Heat Tavern coming to Bedford, I recently spoke with Kevin Harron, The CEO of Burtons Grill Restaurant Group which also owns the Red Heat Tavern brand. According to Kevin, the idea of Red Heat Tavern began in 2008 during the last recession. While Burton's Grill was doing well, the management team saw a trend in less people eating out and wanted to come out with a more casual concept that still had high quality food made in a scratch kitchen but at a more moderate price point than Burton's Grill. The team wanted an open kitchen and looked around for an charcoal oven that would enhance the natural flavor of their food. They finally found the Jospher Charcoal Oven which combines elements of a grill and an oven. They then ordered one of the ovens to test. The high temperature oven, which uses hardwood charcoal gave off a red heat from the coals so they decided to go with the name Red Heat Tavern.

It took several years to fine tune the concept and by the time they were ready to open the first restaurant in Wilmington last year, the economy had recovered but they still found a large demand for high quality food at a more moderate price point.

Shortly after opening, they realized the concept seems to work well so they set about looking for a second location. Bedford was seen as a strong community with a good income level. The restaurant group also liked the fact that Bedford adds a lot of office workers during the day in nearby office parks. With a lot of new restaurants opening in Burlington, the restaurant group thought it would be good to have a location in Bedford so residents could stay local and not have to drive over to Burlington or Lexington. Bedford Market Place was being renovated and it was thought that the existing Whole Foods would drive a lot of traffic.

Construction on the new building has begin. The restaurant is expected to open later this year.
The new building which will be next to Marshall's, is expected to have about 160 indoor seats as well as a outdoor patio which should seat around 30. Assuming their liquor license gets approved, the new restaurant is projected to open this fall.

The new restaurant will include an outdoor patio.
Comments:
It's good to see one of the new buildings under construction at Bedford Market Place already has a tenant.

Burton's Restaurant Group seems to have come up with a good idea on how to handle food allergies. When a guest with a food allergy orders, their meal is cooked with special color coded cooking utensils specific for each allergy and then served on to a different shaped plate. This make it easy for everyone in the kitchen and wait staff to spot rather than having to rely on word of mouth or a special print out.




5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am so absolutely excited for this, Bedford really lacks some quality dining options, this will definitely compete with the options opening up in Burlington!

-Mike

Anonymous said...

It would be great to have another dining option in Bedford, something new and different. Speaking as someone with a food allergy, Burton's Grill is a great place to eat and it has options for folks like me. If the are running the Red Heat Tavern, we are in good hands. I look forward to seeing something new in town!

applequeen said...

Very glad that bedford is finally becoming a bit more hip every year! A bit less need to go elsewhere for good food in a fun environment!

applequeen said...

Very glad that bedford is finally becoming a bit more hip every year! A bit less need to go elsewhere for good food in a fun environment!

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