Kettering smokehouse owner gutted as restaurant shuts up shop

The owner of a Kettering smokehouse says he’s gutted after deciding to close the restaurant and put his family first.

Drew Wilcox opened Billionaires in Sheep Street in 2018, offering smoked meat platters, ribs, wings, burgers and hot dogs.

The restaurant proved a hit and won six awards with visitors including boxing legend Ricky Hatton.

But on Monday (July 18) Drew announced Billionaires would be closing with immediate effect because he didn’t have time to run it and spend quality time with his young son Ethan.

He said: “When he was born I missed two weeks of his life because of work and I said to myself that I’m not doing that again.

"In the last 14 months I’ve been there about 15 times and I just haven’t got the time for it. It’s not a job, it’s a lifestyle.

"I’ve also got ERG Builders and I can sit at home doing quotes for that and spend time with my boy. I have to do the right thing for him.

"I’ve invested a lot of money into Kettering but at the end of the day it’s only money.”

Drew said that many of the Billionaires team of about a dozen employees have already found new jobs.

He added: "I am completely gutted but I have to put my family first.

“I’ve learned a lot about restaurants. I would 100 per cent like to own one again, but maybe in 10 years when it works for me.”

In 2019 Billionaires launched what they believed was the UK’s biggest burger, a claim disputed by another town restaurant.