Dinosaur dining coming to Rushden Lakes' newest restaurant very soon

A 'Disney-esque' dining experience inspired by the world of dinosaurs is coming to Rushden Lakes very soon.

Following Jurassic Grill's huge success since opening in Kettering's Market Place, the finishing touches are being made to its second restaurant which is due to open at the retail and leisure complex later this month.

The restaurant, nestled between Five Guys and Chi in the leisure terrace, will take diners away from the busy shopping area and deep into a rainforest setting where the world of dinosaurs will be brought to life around you.

While the team can't wait to open the doors to diners, Covid-19 has allowed them some extra time to get everything just right for their latest venture.

Managing director Joe Mordawska told this newspaper: "It's given us the impetus to get everything perfect, putting that little bit more work in to go all out, almost Disney-esque, to make it incredible.

"We could have been able to open about a month ago but we said we would take our time and get it right."

While the Rushden Lakes menu will be similar to the Kettering one, Joe said: "Some things will stay and some will change.

"We are trying to make things more efficient for our teams and also for Covid reasons.

"The brand is becoming bigger and bigger so we need a menu that if you go to Jurassic Grill you know what you are getting.

"We are looking at every city in the UK but this is our home county so we really want to put the benchmark here."

With nature being such a key part of Rushden Lakes, they feel it is a great location for the new restaurant which they have tried to make as environmentally friendly as possible.

Joe, who is hugely passionate about natural history and dinosaurs in particular, said: "This is our flagship branch.

"With everything being green, this one has created the plan for the rest, this one sets the bar.

"At Kettering we are now making a few changes."

The new branch's green credentials include everything being recycled, all its bags are biodegradable, LED lighting throughout and the washer uses 60 per cent less water.

Rushden Lakes helped them go in that direction and with the restaurant being all about the children, they want it to be green for both their future as well as now.

The new restaurant is set to open on Saturday, May 22, with Joe saying people have already 'gone nuts for it.'

While the booking system should be in place by the end of this week, the plan is for the Rushden Lakes branch to be more of a walk-in restaurant.

It will create 30 to 40 jobs and general manager Joshua Parr says they have already filled about 75 per cent of these roles.

However, they are still looking for chefs and would love to hear from anyone interested in working in the Jurassic Grill kitchen.

Joe said: "Our staff have been great, they have been loyal, they have wanted to be involved and they are all so excited about opening the next place.

"They are ready to get going."

Rushden Lakes bosses are keen to promote and support independent companies like Jurassic Grill so Joe is looking forward to adding to the line-up of independents there.

And Joshua added: "I think it works really well with all the retail at Rushden Lakes but then there's the leisure too, it's really unique and they compliment us."

Looking ahead to the opening, Joe said: "All the restaurants at Rushden Lakes do so well, we are excited."

For more information about Jurassic Grill, click here or follow them on Facebook or Instagram.

Message from the editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the highest standards in the world. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers and consequently the advertising that we receive.

We are now more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you