An American-style diner has opened on Hoults Yard, Newcastle, with its own butcher and smokehouse.
Called 2Knives, it is serving US-themed food including burgers, dessert pies such as Key Lime and pecan pies, and a range of American and Belgian beers.
Dave Crann owns and runs the restaurant alongside his wife Sophie and business partner Kay Killeen.
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He said: “We have our own smoker, we do our own butchery and we make our own special sauces.
“Everything we serve is super fresh, we’re grinding our meat every day to make sure our burgers are as juicy as possible.
"We’re keeping our menu simple, with a number of core products that we do very well.”
Until last year’s first lockdown 2Knives had a residency at a Tyneside brewery, but Dave and Sophie have taken the plunge and have opened in the Pattern Shop Studio within Hoults Yard.
Dave said: “We’re so excited to have opened on Hoults Yard and we’re looking forward to adding to its unique vibe.
"For those who don’t know us, we produce our own burgers with meat and ingredients sourced from local suppliers. We also specialise in American dessert pies."
Dave runs his own electrician’s business while his wife has years of experience in the catering trade.
The Sunderland couple’s love of American cuisine started on visits to the States and continued with home barbecues.
Dave said: “We’ve learned so much about smoking and grilling over the last few years and are so excited to have opened our own restaurant."
Meanwhile Sophie explained the name 2Knives: “Obviously there are two of us, so we decided on 2Knives.
"Learning how to use a knife properly is one of the first lessons in a kitchen, so the name is also a nod to what we do."
Kay, who is Sophie’s cousin, has vast experience in the brewing trade having running pubs for Wetherspoons for more than a decade, and owning and running two micro-breweries.
She also has a diploma in British Brewing Technology from Brewlab in Sunderland.
Kay said: “Friends and family have been telling Sophie and I to link our businesses for ages, so we did an event for International Women’s Day and it worked so well we decided to go for it."
She added: “We stock a wide range of Belgian bottled beers which complement Sophie’s amazing burgers really well, as will the American IPAs that we stock. We have four keg lines and a range of cask ales and cans too."
2Knives offers seating for 36 inside and a further 30 outside. To start with the restaurant will open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
