The owners of city centre street food firm The Pigs Wings will transform the upper level of their premises into a new restaurant space in the coming months.
Situated on Upperkirkgate in Aberdeen, the business opened its doors to the public in May 2018 and serves up an eclectic combination of cuisines from across the world.
Brothers Marcello and Marcos Sasso, alongside long-term friend Tommy Houghton, have owned the two levels in the building since the firm’s inception.
However only one of these, the ground level, has been put to use up until this point.
The trio always dreamed of transforming the upper level into a restaurant. And with plans already underway, they also aim to reinvent the ground level to become a bar area.
Marcos Sasso, managing director, says customers “can expect a relaxed and unique vibe” in the space.
Collaborations
In terms of the food and drink offering in the soon-to-be restaurant, Marcello, Marcos and Tommy are creating a new menu combining all their classics, which include a range of loaded fries, falafel, deli subs, burgers and salads, with a line-up of new dishes.
They will be working alongside other local businesses to create collaborative menu items, too, such as Lurch Monster’s Tilly Butcher and The Bread Maker, to name a few.
An increased soft drinks range will also be available, including kombucha from Raw Culture.
“We have always had the upstairs space,” Marcos said. “There was nothing but a series of soulless white boxes inside it – too big to be called cupboards, too small to be useful for anything other than storage.
“The three of us have always dreamed of being able to transform upstairs into a restaurant.
“With that in mind, we believe in order to be successful and avoid being another statistic you must keep moving, creating and taking risks.
“The new restaurant space will show off a combination of the original and new building materials that tell the story of this historic building.”
All associated bureaucracy and red tape have been overcome, so the team has managed to make great headway with the renovation so far.
Marcello, Marcos and Tommy anticipate contractors will begin work in the next few weeks.
Raising funds in the process
Marcos continued: “Customers can also expect to be toe-tapping to good music while taking in the artwork from our abundance of local artists.
“We are working with the amazing D-Funk Robot, a local artist, to design a party of weird and wonderful characters that will be vinyl’d onto our floor and finished with epoxy resin.
“As a fun way to raise money for Mrs Murray’s Home for Stray Cats and Dogs, we will be giving the opportunity to have your pet cartoonised and added to the floor.
“Everyone who donates to our fundraiser, which has a target of £1,000, will be entered into the raffle to win this amongst various other pet-themed prizes. Donations can be made via the link on our Instagram and Facebook pages until this Thursday (September 16).”
Introducing booze
As well as opening the new restaurant upstairs, the trio have applied for an alcohol license and plan to reinvent their current eating space into a modern bar.
Marcos added: “As part of the renovations we are reshuffling the tables downstairs of The Pigs Wings and building a bar.
“All going well, we’ll be offering local beers on draught, a fridge stocked with a good selection of jungle juice (alcoholic punch) and not forgetting some amazing wines.
“Being from an Argentinian background, we hope customers like Malbec.”