Lloyd Catering Equipment Ltd has during the course of our 53 years in business been associated with some of the leading names in the hotel and leisure industry.
During this time We have worked on numerous concepts within the restaurant side of this business and have enjoyed great working relations with most of the recognised brands of which TGIFridays is but one.
In 1985, we were asked by Whitbread with whom we had been associated since the late 1970’s to work with them on a new American concept TGIFridays and subsequently we went with a development team to TGIFridays headquarters in Dallas Texas to be introduced to the TGIFridays concept and culture. It was an awe-inspiring experience, the excellence and sheer variety of the food on offer were quite incredible, the kitchen was unbelievable, the professionalism, attention to detail in the design, but above all the quality of the equipment and fabrication that were installed were way in advance of most UK operations.
A tall order for our company and a tight schedule to fulfil but it was completed on time and it was with great pride in 1986 when we installed the first TGIFridays kitchen in the United Kingdom at Hagley Road Birmingham and since then the site has become synonymous in the Birmingham area as the place to eat.
Sadly this well established restaurant was gutted by fire in 2008 forcing the entire site to close.
At this stage we were asked to come up with a rescue plan for any possible salvageable equipment still in the business.
On the 5th December 2008 when we arrived no one could have anticipated the level of damage the fire had caused and that after our initial survey it was apperent that the entire kitchen was lost, beyond repair.
Part of the service we gave to our client at this time was to remove as much of the damaged catering equipment as safely possible from TGIFridays and store in our warehouse to enable loss adjusters and fire officers to inspect the units when and if required.
At this point in the process we met with the entire client team to discuss ways forward and what options where available, it became very clear that after such a damaging accident the only way forward was to re-build the entire rear section of the building.
The brief from the client was to provide a full working kitchen having bespoke refrigerated units, walk in coldrooms and cellar cooling all having remote refrigeration, All bar fabrications to be bespoke with inclusion of Bottle coolers and glass Frosters having integral refrigeration, supply a bespoke pass through bottle cooler with integral refrigeration, Coordinate the beer and wine installation and also Coca Cola install.
After much deliberation and consultation with the team it was agreed that whilst the building was to be re-built it was an ideal time for us to introduce the latest thinking in TGIFridays kitchen design, similar to the newly opened Trafford Centre site in Manchester however to evolve the template plan even further with concepts like a fully open kitchen enabling the public to see the freshly made dishes, a 13m long ceiling suspended three tiered heated gantry and also a new to the menu pizza station making this the first TGIFridays site in the world to have this type of platform.
By working closely with our key suppliers we enabled our mutual client to attend training days at demonstration kitchens giving them a greater insight in to the equipment that we had suggested that they were unfamiliar with.
The challenges ahead were fraught with issues from day one as trying to implement this design in to newly formed building although built to the exact criteria of the previous shell were taxing to say the least, however with input from Lloyd Catering Equipment and the project team it became clear that a way forward was possible and a final layout design was approved.
On the 30th March the first site meeting was held with a 13 week program ahead enabling a date of the 4th July open to the public, the program was tight with no room for manoeuvre making good project management a necessity for this contract.
During the course of the project certain issues arose that required a degree of reactive management on our part to enable solutions to be sourced keeping the project on track and still achieving the client’s requirements.
It was with a sense of great accomplishment that on the 4th July TGIFridays Hagley Road Birmingham opened to the public with glowing reviews and more importantly fantastic feedback from the client for delivering a successful project.
Since the opening, the site has gone from strength to strength with the UK managing director being quoted as saying that she was confident that the new version would be applied to its majority of 46 TGIFridays UK locations.
We at Lloyd Catering Equipment wish TGIFridays Hagley Road Birmingham a long and continued success and should you wish to visit this or any of the restaurants then please follow the link below.
