'Popular' Yorkshire restaurant group invests six-figures to acquire larger site

‘Popular’ Italian restaurant, Pranzo, is relocating to the centre of Ilkley in a move that will more than double its capacity and boost the restaurant scene in the centre of the town.

In October, Pranzo Italian will move into the former Edinburgh Woollen Mill store in The Moors Shopping centre. The former clothing store is undergoing extensive renovation with a £250k investment to create an authentic Italian dining space.

Pranzo has become a local staple for authentic southern Italian cuisine and carefully selected imported wine. Not only will the move let more people sample their homemade pasta, it will create skilled hospitality roles based around their strong ethos of creating every part of the dish in house. Pranzo already employs over 60 people in the local area and this move will create an additional 15-20 jobs.

After five years in Ben Rhydding, owner and chef Marco Greco is looking forward to the next stage in Pranzo’s journey. “Pranzo Ilkley was the first restaurant we opened. The community here have been so welcoming.

“The Ben Rhydding restaurant is a small, intimate venue that started life as an Italian café bar. We’ve evolved to serve homemade pasta and a fantastic offering of imported wines from family owned vineyards across Italy.

“Our new venue, just minutes down the road, will allow more people to come and enjoy our homemade pasta and the traditional Calabrese food I grew up with. It feels like the right time to move into a new place and the location, in the heart of Ilkley, will be great for the Pranzo style of dining.”

In 2018, the restaurant opened its doors in Ben Rhydding and has worked hard to stand out and gain a loyal following. Stephen Peace, operations director, confirms that given the economic climate the restaurant evolved in, the Pranzo business model has remained stoic.

“Over the past 18 months Pranzo has gone through a tremendous growth period. We have put a huge focus on the product and the team to create a brand that will continue to grow over the coming years. We doubled the size of Harrogate last year and in a matter of weeks we will see the new Ilkley restaurant open its doors.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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