The Blues Kitchen

The Blues Kitchen is a United Kingdom venue and restaurant brand built around the combination of live American-rooted music, Southern-style food and an extensive bourbon-led drinks offer. Its identity draws on the culture of juke joints, blues clubs and barbecue restaurants in the American South, while its operating model is adapted for urban nightlife locations in the UK. The brand currently operates venues in London and Manchester, with London sites in Camden, Shoreditch or the Old Street area, and Brixton, as well as a Manchester location on Quay Street. The first Blues Kitchen opened on Camden High Street in October 2009. It was founded by Steve Ball and Riz Shaikh, directors of The Columbo Group, a UK hospitality and nightlife operator whose portfolio has also included venues such as The Jazz Café, The Old Queen's Head, Metropolis, The Parakeet and Phonox. The Blues Kitchen became one of the group's more clearly defined concepts, combining a restaurant service with a late-night music programme rather than treating food and entertainment as separate businesses. The concept was informed by extensive travel through the Deep South of the United States. The team visited Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, New Orleans, Mississippi, Arkansas and Kentucky, developing relationships with American musicians, chefs and owners of juke-joint-style establishments. Those influences are reflected in the brand's menu and atmosphere. Its venues serve slow-smoked, pit-style barbecue, burgers and chicken wings, alongside bourbon and other drinks associated with Southern American drinking culture. The brand's music programming covers blues, soul, funk, Motown, Stax and 1960s rock and roll, with DJs and live acts appearing across its sites. The Blues Kitchen has hosted both established and emerging performers. Acts associated with its stages include Seasick Steve, Gary Clark Jr., Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Wayne Kramer, Mud Morganfield, The Libertines, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Fat White Family, Andrew Weatherall, Cedric Burnside, North Mississippi Allstars, the Maccabees and the Jim Jones Revue. The venues also support recurring residencies, including performances by The Beekays, The Sierra Band, Atlantic Soul Orchestra and The Reputations. This programming gives the brand a role as both a hospitality business and a live-music platform. In addition to physical venues, The Blues Kitchen has developed an owned-media presence through recorded live sessions, interviews and a recurring radio programme distributed through platforms including Spotify and YouTube. The sessions have featured guests from blues, rock, soul, Americana and related genres. The programmes have been presented by Liam Hart, who is identified in the reference material as a founder associated with the Blues Kitchen's media output. A notable brand event took place in June 2019, when The Blues Kitchen hosted a 100-hour non-stop musical session to mark its tenth birthday. More than 500 artists took part, and the event raised over £10,000 for Help Refugees and Camden Music Trust. The event was also reported as setting a record for the world's longest musical jam. The brand expanded beyond London with a fourth venue on Quay Street in Manchester in 2021. Its current proposition remains centred on live music, Southern food, bourbon and late-night hospitality.

The Blues Kitchen opened its first venue on Camden High Street in October 2009. The concept was developed by Steve Ball and Riz Shaikh, directors of The Columbo Group, a hospitality and nightlife company with a wider portfolio of London venues. Rather than operating solely as a restaurant or solely as a concert venue, The Blues Kitchen combined food service, drinks and live entertainment in one Southern American-inspired format. The founders and their team researched the culture behind the concept through extensive travel in the United States. Their visits included Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, New Orleans, Mississippi, Arkansas and Kentucky. They developed contacts with musicians, chefs and owners of American juke joints, and used those experiences to shape the brand's food, music and atmosphere. The resulting proposition centred on slow-smoked barbecue, burgers, chicken wings and bourbon, supported by music associated with the American South and adjacent traditions. From its early Camden base, the brand developed a recurring programme of live acts and club nights. DJs played Motown, Stax and 1960s rock-and-roll records, while the live programme featured blues, soul, funk and Americana performers. The venues hosted a mixture of internationally recognised artists, British bands and regular resident acts. This programming helped establish The Blues Kitchen as a destination for music-oriented dining and late-night entertainment rather than a conventional themed restaurant. The brand's performing history includes appearances by artists such as Seasick Steve, Gary Clark Jr., Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Wayne Kramer of the MC5, Mud Morganfield, The Libertines, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Fat White Family, Huey Morgan, Andrew Weatherall, Cedric Burnside, Tav Falco, North Mississippi Allstars, R.L. Boyce, Cedell Davis, Mystery Jets, the Maccabees, Tribes and the Jim Jones Revue. Recurring residencies have included The Beekays, The Sierra Band, Atlantic Soul Orchestra and The Reputations. The Blues Kitchen also expanded its activities into recorded media. Its channels have released live sessions and interviews through YouTube and Spotify, and The Blues Kitchen Radio has provided a continuing audio format. The reference material identifies Liam Hart as a founder associated with these media programmes and presenter of episodes. Guests have included musicians from blues, soul, rock, funk and Americana, including Ronnie Wood, Bobby Gillespie, Nathaniel Rateliff, Kurt Vile, Graham Nash, Steve Earle, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Charles Bradley, Jimmie Vaughan, George Clinton, Robert Cray, Wilko Johnson, Gary Clark Jr. and Seasick Steve. In June 2019, the brand celebrated its tenth anniversary with a 100-hour non-stop music event. More than 500 artists appeared during the three-day programme, which raised over £10,000 for Help Refugees and Camden Music Trust. The event was presented as a record-setting musical jam and demonstrated the brand's ability to turn its music identity into a large-scale community and fundraising initiative. The physical network later grew to include venues on Curtain Road near Old Street in London and Acre Lane near Brixton, in addition to Camden. A fourth site opened on Quay Street in Manchester in 2021. The Blues Kitchen's continuing identity is therefore based on a linked portfolio of urban venues rather than a single flagship restaurant. Across the network, the brand combines Southern barbecue, bourbon, live performance, DJ nights, artist media and late-night hospitality.

• 2021

  Manchester expansion

  [1]The Blues Kitchenen.wikipedia.org

  A fourth venue opens on Quay Street in Manchester.

• 2019

  Tenth-anniversary 100-hour musical jam

  [1]The Blues Kitchenen.wikipedia.org

  The brand stages a 100-hour continuous music event featuring more than 500 artists and raising over £10,000 for charity.

• 2015

  Founders receive further Evening Standard recognition

  [1]The Blues Kitchenen.wikipedia.org

  Steve Ball and Riz Shaikh are again identified in the Evening Standard's Top 1000 Most Influential list.

• 2015

  The Columbo Group receives late-night operator award

  [1]The Blues Kitchenen.wikipedia.org

  The Blues Kitchen's parent group, The Columbo Group, is reported to have received the Best Late Night Operator award at the Morning Advertiser's Publican Awards.

• 2014

  Founders recognised by the Evening Standard

  [1]The Blues Kitchenen.wikipedia.org

  Steve Ball and Riz Shaikh are included in the Evening Standard's Top 1000 Most Influential list, according to the reference material.

• 2009

  First venue opens in Camden

  [1]The Blues Kitchenen.wikipedia.org

  The first Blues Kitchen opens on Camden High Street in London in October.

A music-led restaurant and nightlife brand that presents Southern American food and bourbon alongside blues, soul, funk, Americana and classic rock programming.

• Food · 2009

  Southern-style barbecue

  The food proposition is built around Southern American pit-style barbecue. The venues are described as serving slow-smoked barbecue, with the cooking style and flavour profile forming a central part of the brand's Deep South positioning.

• Food · 2009

  Burgers and chicken wings

  Burgers and chicken wings are among the recurring core dishes served across the venues. They complement the barbecue-led menu and support the brand's informal, music-oriented restaurant format.

• Beverages · 2009

  Bourbon selection

  Rare bourbon is a defining drinks focus of The Blues Kitchen. The whiskey offering reinforces the brand's American South influences and differentiates the venues from general-purpose live-music restaurants.

• Entertainment · 2009

  Live music programme

  The venues present blues, soul, funk and Americana artists, alongside club nights featuring Motown, Stax and 1960s rock-and-roll selections. The programme includes touring artists, emerging performers and regular residencies.

• Digital media

  The Blues Kitchen Radio

  The Blues Kitchen Radio is a recurring audio programme distributed through Spotify. The wider media output also includes live sessions and interviews with musicians from blues, soul, rock, funk and Americana.

• 2019The World's Longest Musical Jam

  United Kingdom

  To celebrate its tenth birthday, The Blues Kitchen organised a 100-hour continuous music session across three days. More than 500 artists performed during the event.

  Outcome. The event was described as the world's longest musical jam and raised over £10,000 for Help Refugees and Camden Music Trust.

  Source

• 2021

  Expansion into ManchesterStrategy

  Background

  After establishing venues in several London locations, The Blues Kitchen expanded its physical network beyond the capital.

  Action taken

  The brand opened a venue on Quay Street in Manchester, described as its fourth site.

  Aftermath

  The expansion extended The Blues Kitchen's live-music restaurant model into a second UK city.

  Source

1. 1The Blues Kitchenen.wikipedia.org