Chef Andrew Sheridan acquires former Fraiche restaurant site

Andrew Sheridan has taken on the former site of Michelin-starred restaurant Fraiche in Oxton, Merseyside for his latest project.

The chef, who is behind the Black and Green and 8 restaurant brands, will relaunch the venue with his business partner Sam Morgan.

It will reopen as Restaurant OXA, an upmarket neighbourhood restaurant that will serve seasonal British produce.

The site takes its name from the old Norse word Oxa-tún, which represents the word Oxton, and is located just a few miles from where Sheridan grew up.

Work on the restaurant will start imminently with the opening scheduled for May. It is expected to create nine new jobs.

Sheridan, who won the Welsh head of the BBC's Great British Menu in 2019, said: "It is a dream come true to open a restaurant in the village I grew up in."

The acquisition comes at a busy time for Sheridan and Morgan's Open Restaurant Group. Sheridan will relocate his three-AA-rosette tasting menu restaurant 8 to Liverpool on 19 April.

The pair launched the Wye Inn pub in Newent, Gloucestershire at the start of April and will launch neighbourhood bistro Upstairs at the Wye in May.

Sheridan told The Caterer he is also involved with the upcoming District Marketplace food hall in Birmingham, which will take over the site of the former JD Wetherspoon Pear Tree pub.

Morgan said: "This is a very exciting time for Open Restaurant Group, and we are pleased to add the restaurant formerly known as Fraiche to our expanding portfolio.

"We look forward to bringing our brand of fine dining neighbourhood bistro to this part of Merseyside."

Marc Wilkinson's Michelin-starred Fraiche closed the Oxton site two weeks ago and is set to relocate to Shropshire.