THE arrival of a new restaurant owned by TV chef Jamie Oliver will be “extremely important” to the Bullring in its run-up to Christmas.
Tim Walley, the Birmingham shopping centre’s general manager, told TheBusinessDesk.com that he was “thrilled” to be welcoming the eatery in what will be a “highly-anticipated” period over the next two months.
Jamie’s Italian, in the former Borders unit in St Martin’s Square outside the shopping centre, will employ 95 people when it opens its doors on Monday.
It is the 15th and largest in the celebrity chef’s chain, able to host 270 covers, with two further restaurants due to open early next year in Nottingham and Bristol.
Mr Walley said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming Jamie’s Italian to Bullring at what is the beginning of a highly-anticipated Christmas period for us.
“We anticipate a strong Christmas here at the centre and hope to replicate the success we celebrated during 2009, which saw one million shoppers visiting the centre each week during the lead-up to Christmas.
“At Bullring we’re constantly looking for new ways to enhance the experience for our shoppers and see Jamie’s Italian as an extremely important restaurant to add to the mix, enhancing and broadening our catering offer.”
The grand opening is the next step in what is an important few years for the shopping complex as it looks to boost its dining out offering by opening three new restaurants and reshaping the area around the picturesque square.
Developers behind the ‘Spiceal Street’ scheme are hoping to create a restaurant hub with seven separate eateries including Jamie’s Italian, three new tenants and existing units Pizza Hut, Nando’s and Wagamama.
