Member Article

National restaurant chains join Macclesfield regeneration project

Two national restaurant chains have committed to join the new £90m Silk Street scheme in Macclesfield.

Prezzo, the UK chain of Italian restaurants, will take a 3,740 sq ft unit, while Frankie & Benny’s New York Italian restaurant and bar, will be in a 4,000 sq ft unit.

The restaurants will join existing tenants Cineworld and Debenhams.

Construction work on the 84,000sq ft development will start next year, creating more than 1,300 employment opportunities in total. The project, lead by Wilson Bowen Developments, is expected to be completed in 2016.

Historic plans of the town have shown that a “Silk Street” existed in the same location prior to demolition in the 1960s and the developers are confident the name will reinforce Macclesfield’s silk heritage.

Will Robinson, retail director at Wilson Bowden said: “We are delighted to have signed Prezzo and Frankie & Benny’s. The development offers larger format units to meet the needs of national retailers.

“With a strong demographic, Silk Street as a location is an attractive proposition for national retailers.

“We’ve had a number of positive discussions with retailers since planning approval and will be making further announcements in due course.”

A spokesperson from Frankie & Benny’s said: “Frankie and Benny’s is excited to be opening its first restaurant in Macclesfield. The Silk Street scheme is ideal for us and our customers.”

Prezzo chief executive Jonathan Kaye added that they expect that their outlet “will prove popular with people of all ages and be a great asset to the scheme and the social scene in the town.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .