Westhoughton: Grand opening of Word on the Meat

The new pub and barbecue restaurant, Word on the Meat, located on Chorley Road in Westhoughton, welcomed its first customers yesterday.

Co-owner and business mastermind, Ben Odling, converted a commercial kitchen in his food equipment company NWCE into a takeaway service last spring.

Now he has taken over the former Waggon and Horses pub, which had been closed since last summer after a licensing dispute.

After seeing many of his friends in the hospitality industry struggling to find work, Ben stepped in and set up Word on the Meat as a takeaway-only service.

He said: “I was speaking to chefs and waitresses I know who had lost income and been made redundant and I really wanted to get them back into work.

“So I thought, why not open a takeaway service and run it from the commercial kitchen in NWCE.

“It turned out to be a raging success. We even had customers come from all the way from Carlisle to try the food.

“It took off so much that we decided to shut the takeaway and open a pub serving the delicious food.”

Ben added: “Helping people get back into work was, for me, an achievement in itself in the middle of a pandemic.”

Customers wanting to sample Westhoughton’s new venue can expect fresh cocktails, world beers, cask ale and local gin.

The restaurant, which is situated at the rear of the pub, will be serving everything from high-end steaks, to signature burgers, to delicious loaded fries.

Word on the Meat is using local suppliers for their fruit and vegetables and some of their cask ales and gins.

The eaterie is currently fully booked for the next two weeks.

But customers wanting to try the restaurants’ iconic signature burgers are encouraged to book via info@wordonthemeat.co.uk