Gloucester’s influx of new (and old) food and drink establishments opening is a welcome site for the city’s high street.
We’ve recently seen the opening of ‘Island Bites’, a new independent Caribbean restaurant and take-away, which opened its doors last month and brings an array of vibrant colours and wonderful flavours to Westgate Street.
This weekend, we will see ‘Cafe 72’, an independent coffee shop on Southgate Street, opening their doors to welcome city centre customers. Originally located in Eastgate market, they have moved into bigger premises, where Gemini Hair and Beauty Salon once was, after successfully applying for a change of use from Gloucester City Council.
KFC is returning to its former location on Westgate Street this Autumn, with the refit currently taking place. The restaurant will be creating 25 new jobs directly in Gloucester city centre.
Emily Gibbon, Business Manager at Gloucester Business Improvement District (BID), commented “It’s wonderful to see new and old businesses coming to Gloucester’s high street. Occupying empty retail units is making our city more attractive to both residents and visitors.”
Councillor Richard Cook, leader of Gloucester City Council, said: “High Streets have faced some challenges over the last few years especially as the nature of the retail changes with more people shopping online. However, I’m delighted that despite this, Gloucester still has a lot of interest from national retailers wanting to come here and a great mix of independents offering something different and encouraging people to visit the city. We were pleased to work with Café 72 to support their exciting new venture and hope that it will be a huge success.”
It’s exciting times for the city’s high street, with many more food and drink businesses due to make Gloucester their home over the next few months, including the much-anticipated Food Dock. Together with the beautiful seasonal flower displays, the various regeneration projects and the many events lined up over the summer, they will help make the city centre more vibrant and welcoming.
