Marco Pierre White is coming home to open first-ever Leeds restaurant

Leeds-born celebrity chef Marco Pierre White has announced plans to open his first-ever restaurant in his home city at the Merrion Centre.

Leeds City Council has received planning permission for the new venture today, after Town Centre Securities (TCS) approved franchise agreements for the Ibis Styles hotel with AccorHotels, the global hotel operator, and Black & White Hospitality, which owns the Marco’s New York Italian brand.

It has been over two years since the Merrion Hotel closed, and the building will soon be regenerated into the same recognisable style that the franchise currently brings to hotel residents all around the world.

Marco’s New York Italian will be located on the ground floor of the new 134-floor hotel, which will is being developed on the site of the former Merrion Hotel, due to open in December 2016.

The restaurant’s menu will feature options that represent Marco’s Italian heritage and his love of classic American dishes.

Edward Ziff, chief executive and chairman of Town Centre Securities, said: “We are delighted that Marco Pierre White’s first restaurant in Leeds is going to be at the Merrion Centre and the hotel will be operating under the Ibis Styles brand. The Merrion Centre is in the heart of The Arena Quarter which is rapidly becoming a popular destination with restaurants, bars and the first direct Arena, we are very excited to welcome a top restaurant and hotel to the offering.”

Born in Leeds in 1961, Marco began his culinary training at the city’s Hotel Metropole and the Box Tree in Ilkley before moving to London at the age of 16, where he worked for the likes of Albert and Michel Roux, Pierre Koffman and Raymond Blanc and became the youngest chef to earn three Michelin stars.

Speaking at the launch of his new restaurant in London this week, he commented: “It’s great to be coming home to Leeds, what more is there to say?”

Nick Taplin, chief executive at Black & White Hospitality, added: “Eating out should be as much about the experience and atmosphere as it is about the food. People spending their hard earned money in our restaurant deserve to have a good time as well as a good meal. We want to offer quality to everybody, at every price point, as the future of dining is affordable glamour.

“We have been eager to make our move into the city for some time, but it was crucial that we found the right partner to take the restaurant forward. Returning home to Leeds will be a special moment for Marco and we hope our guests will feel it was worth the wait.”

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