Future looking bright for Wolverhampton BBQ restaurant as owner talks about expansion and event plans

It has been a feature of the culinary scene in Wolverhampton since opening in 2021, with its wide range of American-inspired BBQ and drinks proving popular and the decorations and setting providing a feeling of eating in a BBQ restaurant in the United States.

Mr Parton said there were new plans on the horizon for Rodeos, starting with a new restaurant in Birmingham in the Kings Norton area, something he said he had always aimed for, but never imagined it would happen.

He said: "It was always the aim to turn it into a group of restaurants, but we never imagined that we could actually go to do it and so we're really pleased with the new venue, which is three times bigger that what we have in Wolverhampton.

"It's going to look a bit more Nashville-based as with my recent trips to and from Wolverhampton, I've been talking to bars and artists over there and we even got mentioned on the WFM radio by Kelly Sutton, saying we're the best Honky Tonk in the UK, so that's a great shout out to us.

"What we've done there is replicate Broadway, the main strip in Nashville, and I've made the signs of the 10 most popular bars there, so that if you're standing in the restaurant in Birmingham, it will feel like you're on the Broadway strip."

Mr Parton said he was always keen to continually improve the offering for customers in both Wolverhampton and, now, Birmingham, through listening to customers around food and decoration offerings and making changes based on those.

He also said that other big plans were being put in place, including a possible third venue and a new Western shop at each restaurant, and spoke of the enduring popularity of Rodeos.

He said: "We're actively looking for a third venue, for which we're looking further afield, and we're building Western store shops inside each venue, which can be the destination to come to for authentic cowboy hats and boots, things you'd normally have to order online, wait for and then send back if they don't quite fit.

"That's great, as is what we've managed to achieve with the size of the venue, with the Grand Theatre always booking with us for cast meals when certain shows are on, and the word is definitely getting out there.

"Lots of families and groups are coming in and we're in a great place at the moment."

Another thing Mr Parton said was building was the music and performance side, with a recent collaboration with Liam Price, who performs as Luke Combs UK, starting a country music festival called "Keep It Country".

The festival recently played at KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton over three days, as well as successful shows at the O2 in London and Newcastle City Hall, something Mr Parton said he was proud of and looking to expand.

He said: "It's been absolutely fantastic and while it's tiring to run, we're taking a minibus full of Rodeos staff and we're presenting the show and putting it on for everyone.

"We've brought over some four artists from America and some of the top UK artists, as well as vendors selling cowboy hats, Western wear and barbecue food, so a full offering.

"We've just put on sale early bird tickets for the festival at the Civic Hall next October, so it's a sign of how much we've grown this that we can put on a big show at the Civic and it's just great to see."