Member Article

New Oriental eateries create 10 jobs after £200k investment in Leeds’ Merrion Centre

Leeds shopping complex the Merrion Centre has seen two new Oriental eateries after Town Centre Securities signed deals to create 10 new jobs.

My Thai, which opened its doors last week, and Chopstix noodle bar have invested £200k between them in the opening.

This is the third opening for the Yorkshire based My Thai chain, which already has restaurants in Bradford and Halifax and was set up by Simon Grybass and his business partner, Bee Latham, who is originally from Thailand.

It has invested over £50k into the refurbishment of its 482 sq ft eatery in the Merrion Centre.

The Chopstix Group has over 44 units nationwide and has signed a 15 year lease with TCS PLC.

The group invested £150k into its opening and occupying nearly 2000 sq ft, the restaurant group offers fresh and nutritious oriental fusion cuisine, although 95% of the ingredients are sourced from the UK allowing customers to enjoy high food standards with low food miles.

Menashe Sadik, managing director at Chopstix said: “The Arena Quarter is an amazing new urban regeneration project and provides the perfect setting for our Chopstix noodle bar.

“We pride ourselves on offering a quick and convenient dining experience for health conscious customers who either want to take their food away or sit in and enjoy.

“All hydrogenated vegetable fats and monosodium glutamate have been removed from our foods, meaning our tasty meals are also nutritious.”

Simon Grybass, founder of My Thai said: “There are lots of Thai restaurants in Leeds but we see a real gap in the city for an affordable, relaxed, Thai dining experience.

“We serve authentic food at a good price and we want everyone; office workers, students, shoppers and families to feel they’ve been transported to Thailand itself, which is why we’ve made our interior like a mini beach hut with an array of tuc tucs!”

Helen Green, associate director of Estates for Town Centre Securities PLC comments; “We’re delighted to welcome two modern, fun, brands which fit well with our demographic of young shoppers, families and office workers, who seek great tasting, healthy foodwith convenience and speed.

“Both eateries are also offering longer trading hours on first direct Arena nights, which is a great asset as we are even busier when big performances take place.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .