Maggie’s Grill, Aberdeen’s home-grown soul food restaurant, officially opened its second outlet today (Friday July 1).
The New Orlean’s-style American diner, owned by Richard Parfitt and Sebastian Lord, is serving its first customers at Marischal Square in the city centre.
It is the first expansion for Richard and Seb, who opened the original restaurant on Holburn Street in 2015.
But Aberdeen’s many Maggie’s Grill fans may have to wait a few days before they can bag themselves a seat at the new venue, which is four times the size of the Holburn Street diner.
The opening weekend is reduced numbers and Richard, who is also head chef at Maggie’s, has closed off about a third of the restaurant to help settle in staff and iron out launch wrinkles.
Holburn Street Maggie’s Grill temporarily closed
The move comes as the Holburn Street restaurant is temporarily closed for refurbishment.
“We’re using this little bit of time to refurbish the kitchen down over in Holburn Street and will reopen it in a few weeks time,” Richard explained.
Diners can book a seat at the Marischal Square Maggie’s Grill through the company’s website, and Richard says the restaurant should be fully open to customers from next week.
However, after the excitement of opening weekend, which included a soft launch for family and friends on last night (Thursday), he’s hoping to take Monday off.
“I’m a big believer in shutting the place down once a week and giving the kitchen a damn good clean,” Richard said, adding that he needs a break, along with the chance for some down time with the family.
Richard hailed the soft launch, saying that he and the staff were “buzzing” afterwards.
“A lot of people came up to us and said the new place felt like a Maggie’s Grill, but on steroids,” Richard said. “That’s what we were aiming for.”
Open-plan kitchen
He also said it was a chance to get used to the open-plan kitchen at Marischal Square, where diners get a full view of Richard and his staff in action.
“I’m not gonna lie – being a chef is stressful,” Richard continued.
“There are moments when you do want to swear, but that’s not an option for us. It will take a bit of getting used to but quite a few customers last night said they loved seeing us cook the food.”
Maggie’s Grill is the latest restaurant to fill the Marischal Square city centre development, which in February announced the impending arrival of food market concept Resident X.