A FORMER retail manager is battling to bring “that bit of fun” into Birkenhead as it prepares to open the doors to a new burger restaurant in the heart of town. The Burger Laboratory has opened up a new branch on Argyle Street and hopes to expand into Liverpool soon.

Alex Clamp set up the Burger Lab with his friend Tyrone Hardeman towards the end of 2023 at 15 The Cross in Neston before fully opening up to the public in February this year. Since then, he said the restaurant has been so successful it’s now opening up two new branches in Birkenhead and Ellesmere Port with plans to expand further.

In Birkenhead, the Burger Lab will be taking over the premises that was once Sue’s Bar at 25 Argyle Street. Sue’s Bar closed after police and Wirral Council reported issues around noise, antisocial behaviour and crime and later had its licence taken away.

Now with a pavement licence and a premises licence granted by Wirral Council following a meeting earlier this month, Alex hopes for the new restaurant complete with new gaming consoles to be open in four weeks though it is currently offering a delivery service. They have also approached the local authority and local businesses like Cammell Laird to set up screens so people can order food.

After working for 25 years in retail including as a store manager for Tesco, Lidl and Aldi, Alex decided it was time for a change, adding: “I just got to a point where I was getting older and if I was ever going to take the leap and make that journey, I would need to do it now.”

Concerns were raised about the new licence due to problems with antisocial behaviour in the area but Alex said a number of business were really excited to see a new business moving in, Argyle Street has seen some changes in recent years with events venue Future Yard and the new Make CIC headquarters opening up down the road and wider plans by Wirral Council to invest millions into the area.

Alex said the new restaurant won’t be a pub offering instead  street food and a relaxed atmosphere alongside its burgers, adding: “You can’t come in to just drink beer. You can’t come in to drink vodka, you need to have a meal. We want everyone to come in, use the space and to have a nice time.”

The Burger Lab prides itself on what it describes as an experimental approach to food and doesn’t have strict rules about what a burger should be, something Alex said that has been the draw at their new Neston venue. He said: “We do crazy stuff and people have responded to that quite well,” adding: “I hope to bring that to Birkenhead, that bit of fun. A lot of places are strict about what they put on the menu. We don’t do that.”

He said: “I was brought up in Birkenhead so we know the reputation of the area and the challenges but we have to say they have welcomed us massively,” adding: “We sort of expected to have trouble in this area but we are prepared for it. We aren’t going to run from the people who are trying to ruin the businesses in this area.”

He said: “We have got a battle but we are ready for the challenge,” adding: “We can get this gone and we can tackle this together. If we team up on this, we can beat it.”

Much has been made of the local authority’s regeneration plans for Birkenhead, some of which like improvements to Conway Street and Europa Boulevard are now starting to move ahead. Alex said: “The reason why we went for that property is because of the town. The town centre is going to be completely developed.

“We look at it as an area that is really going to change over the next couple of years and that was the reason for putting the business there.”

As a father of two children living nearby, Alex said bringing a family friendly restaurant into Birkenhead was also key, adding: “We want to attract families back into Birkenhead when I do not think it is at the moment.

“Somewhere you can bring your kids while having a beer playing on retro machines in a relaxed environment. We want families to be able to go out and enjoy something. I don’t feel there’s anywhere where you can do that.”

This relaxed atmosphere is something Alex thinks has been key to their success so far. He said:  “I think at the start, Neston were a little bit shocked for a burger place to be opening up there. Once they started to warm up to the idea, the response has been outstanding. We have had so much success in that area and it’s not just burgers, we do a lot of other food,

“We have had an amazing time in Neston and we are now the number 1 burger joint in that area and that is what we wanted to bring to Birkenhead and hopefully Liverpool as well next year.

“A lot of it is that we have got quite a relaxed family atmosphere. We only take people on who want to be part of the family.”