Work is underway to create Neepsend Social Club and Canteen, a modern re-imagining of a classic social club brought to you by the owners of former Cutlery Works faves Slick Chicks, who are also housing their amazing fried chicken and cheesecake restaurant in the venue, under the slightly new name of Slicks.
The new social club and restaurant can be found in 92 Burton Road, next door to The Parrot Club and Peddler Market’s Warehouse and is on course to open this spring with a new fried chicken menu, a games area for a quick round of arrows, and a slew of events in support of local causes.
The idea comes from twins and business partners Tom and Ben Miller who, after visiting Denmark around five years ago, hit upon the idea to create a new-style social club that engages with the local community and provides funding and support for local causes, as well as being a welcoming space to eat some banging fried chicken and sink a few craft beers or cocktails.
How the social club’s site looked ahead of the ongoing transformation.
Neepsend Social Club co-owner Tom Miller told Exposed: “We wanted to grow the fried chicken restaurant, but we’d always wanted to do something bigger and more involved than that.”
“The restaurant is a stepping-stone onto something bigger and when we got offered this place we thought, let’s just go for it. There’s this place in Copenhagen called Absalon, which is like a community centre, and they basically put on loads of events like community meals, yoga for the elderly, board games and ‘meet your neighbours’ kind of things.”
“They make really cool use of a relatively small space, and ever since we went there, that’s what we want to do. We want to be courageous and take the nucleus of what’s so cool about Absalon and put it into this place. We don’t want to be thought of as just a restaurant.”
Concept designs give a feel of how the social club could look.
The space itself will be loosely split into three areas: the front section being more of a lounge vibe, the middle given over to the canteen and restaurant, leading into the back area for darts and table fussball. The aesthetic will borrow from 60s era working men’s clubs, with vinyl patterned floors, red carpet tiles, maroon curtains and lots of wood cladding throughout.
“These are the kind of places my dad forced me and my brother to go to when we were kids, with the promise of naff cola, crisps and football,” explains Tom. “There’s something that’s so nostalgic for me; I just want to recreate what that is. Obviously, I can’t lean into it too hard because we’re creating something new, but we want to try and capture that vibe.”
“That also feeds into the community element, because those places were the heart of the community, where you’d pay your subs and go and catch a turn. We will be doing things like that, and we’ll have a loyalty scheme where you can collect points, giving you offers and discounts and the opportunity to donate to the causes we support by being a club member.”
A selection of Slick’s menu that will be based in the club.
Mondays and Tuesdays will also be given over to club member events, or things like new menu item testing for members, with the venue open to anyone as a restaurant and club from Wednesday to Sunday.
The menu itself focus on fried chicken in all its forms, from burgers to wings and everything in between, but will also feature mac and cheese, poutine and plenty of vegan options. Desserts are all about big comforting baked cheesecakes.
As far as the drinks go, the bar has eight taps, which will see a rolling cast of craft ale from local breweries, as well as some well-known favourites, plus a small section of good cocktails.
“I am just buzzing to get going again,” says Tom, “It’s a nervous energy, but I mean if I wasn’t nervous then there would be something wrong. I’m feeling confident and it’s a good energy.”
“The idea is for this to be the cornerstone of the community. Somewhere people can come and connect. Somewhere you can expect good quality products and good quality conversation, whether that’s with us or with your friends, or whatever. That’s what a social club is about, it’s about being social.”
Neepsend Social Club and Canteen is set for a spring opening. In the meantime, go chuck them a follow on Insta.
