Hugely popular Hickory's Smokehouse set to open restaurant in Telford this year

Hickory's, which already has a restaurant in Shrewsbury, has been the subject of repeated calls to open further east in Telford.

Now the firm has revealed it will be setting up in The Priorslee Pub, in Priorslee, with plans to open in early autumn - creating 100 jobs in the process.

A statement from Hickory's confirmed the news and said the company was thrilled to be expanding into Telford, having been looking at the town for opportunities for some time.

The company said: "We are delighted to be coming to Telford – it’s a new area for us but an area that has been on our radar for some time now.

"We are so happy to be finally planning our first restaurant in the town and second in the wonderful county of Shropshire.

"Our new Telford home is also just over the border from our hugely popular smokehouse in Wall Heath, so we know a lot of our regular guests will be pleased to be able to get their BBQ fix a bit closer to home.

"We’ll be spending time getting to know the local area and our ambition is to create something truly special.

"We are looking forward to becoming part of the community for many years to come.

"We’ve already been embraced wholeheartedly by the local community in Shrewsbury and enjoyed a warm Shropshire welcome, so coming to Telford is genuinely exciting for us all."

Hickory's said that the team at The Priorslee had been notified of the development for the pub.

The firm said that as well as the significant investment in the venue it would also be creating as many as 100 jobs.

It added that it will be 'actively recruiting for passionate chefs, servers, bar tenders and managers, as well as supporting current team members'. 

The Priorslee is expected to close in late May and re-open as Hickory’s Telford in the autumn. 

The statement added: "The team are busy putting the final touches to their exciting plans and are looking forward to sharing more details in late spring."