They began with a van, some irresistible recipes and a passion for cracking grub.
Now York street food favourite Clucking Oinks has opened its first restaurant.
And judging by the the first night, owners Mike and Rachel Brand have a clucking great hit on their hands!
The pair began their foodie journey seven years ago with a street food truck. Then Clucking Oinks became a hugely popular part of the food offer at Spark:York.
Now the new Clucking Oinks restaurant is here, to complement the one at Spark which will stay open.
The Castlegate restaurant takes over the space previously occupied by vegan restaurant Source. Run by Adam Lyons and his wife Katie, Source closed earlier this year so the couple could concentrate on other ventures.
“I know Adam from Source,” Mike told YorkMix. “We had a little conversation when I noticed he’d put it up for sale.
“We had looked in York several times, and found there was not much value – the rents were quite astronomical. For any independent to get started, it was very tough.
“But here the lease was very reasonable. We got along with the landlord, who has the dentist upstairs.
“The location is fantastic for us. And when we’ve come in, all we’ve done is tried to put our stamp on it – which is obviously hip hop and fried chicken.”
The choice is much more extensive than that at Spark. They’ve added wings to the menu, and there are all sorts of burgers.
“A lot of them have been favourites from specials we put put on at Spark, where people have begged for us to bring them back,” Mike said.
“We just didn’t have the capacity of Spark to allow that to happen. So we’ve taken some of them and added them to the menu.”
Mains include the Bombay Bad Boy at £11 – buttermilk fried chicken with Bombay-style curry sauce; and the Dean Martin burger which comes with truffle mayo, JD’s hot honey, grated parmesan and crispy prosciutto (£12).
There are various vegan options – one called No Clucks Given.
The café has a bar and good-sized dining area, with the open kitchen at the back, all branded with the Clucking Oinks pink and white graphics.
You can pick up a takeaway here too, but unlike the Spark version it is not yet on Deliveroo.
To begin with, Clucking Oinks on Castlegate will open Thursday to Monday, from noon until 9pm.
Mike and Rachel put their success down to consistency, and having fantastic staff.
“Mike started off with a great team in the kitchen and we’ve got really loyal team members who’ve stayed with us for so long, that’s front of house as well,” Rachel said.
“I’d like to add some thank yous to our wonderful team,” said Mike. “These past two months have been tough. And they have really had our backs.”
They started with a food truck, went to Spark and have now opened their first restaurant – will there be many more restaurants to come?
“Let’s see how this one goes!” Mike laughs.
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