![]() "We both knew where we wanted to go - I've always recognised ambition."ĭating back to the last days of Queen Victoria's reign, The Eagle & Tun became famous for UB40's 1983 Red Red Wine video but was demolished in October, 2020 to make way for HS2. ![]() "Lars was always a 'seller', and it was like, 'come on, we'll show you!' WeAreBriqs British cofounders, Lee Travers and Sebastian Sutherland, are now understood to be in Chicago working on a digital challenger bank, IAmBank. "It was before the (September 1986) bus crash that killed their bass player, Cliff Burton. "I used to take Lars Ulrich (drummer and co-founder) to the Eagle & Tun and other pubs round there and we'd have a few pints and talk music - even though, musically, we had nothing in common! When I tell Brian that Sky has just screened Metallica's second collaboration with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, he recalls: "They were in Birmingham before anyone truly knew who they would become, we'd be at our DEP studios and they'd be at LSD (Light & Sound Designs). We’ve reached out to Spark and will update the story when we get a response.UB40 founder member and sax player Brian Travers at the opening of his first art exhibition in 2015 (Image: Graham Young / BirminghamLive) However, in what could be interpreted as a sign the company may be trying to help its customers keep grilling once it closes its doors, last week it posted a video on Youtube showing how to use the Spark grill with ordinary briquette charcoal. Spark shutting down would also be extra tough for owners of the grill because the system uses a proprietary charcoal system only available from the company. The grill also has an accompanying mobile app that lets you monitor the temperatures of your cooking cavity and the food you’re cooking. The Spark is capable of getting temperatures between a low 200 degrees all the way up to a ripping hot 900 degrees. The stylish grill ditches the lumps of briquets for a single, flat charcoal “Briq,” and uses a series of stoking and cooling fans for precision temperature control. Here’s how we described The Spark Grill when we first wrote about it: ![]() It’s a bummer because the company’s technology stood out in a sea of nearly identical grilling systems with its precision charcoal heating system. The company CEO, Ben West, has also indicated on his Linkedin that he is “figuring out what’s next.” In addition to signs that the company is no longer selling any products, its executive team looks like it has started to move on. No email response, phone, or text back during biz hours. However after the unit leaked grease and stained my patio (my fault for not using a grill pad, their fault for advertising no need for a grease bucket) I’ve been trying to return my unit for two months and support has gone dark. When I bought my Spark in the Summer their support was top notch. View the profiles of professionals named 'Lee Travers' on LinkedIn. ![]() And, according to some of the company’s customers on Reddit, Spark’s support lines have gone dark. A member of the Restoration Alpha Angels network, who is an experienced and successful investor in Fintech companies, has provided the backing. Their website has stopped selling charcoal bricks and has no inventory left of its grilling systems for sale. Restoration Partners, the London-based technology-focused merchant bank, has secured start-up funding for We Are Briqs. While the company, which makes a proprietary charcoal-based grilling system, has not made any official announcement, outward signs indicate the company has all but closed up shop. It looks like Spark Grills has shut down. (Editor’s note: Spark Grills has filed to liquidate its assets in a procedure akin to filing for bankruptcy called a “Assignment for the benefit of the creditors (ABC)”.
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