Giraffe, the family-friendly chain, has been announced as the first of what is set to be five new restaurants to open at Sheffield’s Meadowhall this year, as part of the shopping centre’s £7m redevelopment of its Oasis food court.
The chain, which is led by Russel Joffe, has taken a 3,433 site at the centre, as its moves closer to its target pf opening its 50th restaurant by the end of this year.
The company opened its 44th site last week in Bath and at the same time unveiled its next generation restaurant design.
The group is also set to open in Chelmsford, Soho and in the new Westfield in Stratford this year.
Work on the 61,000 ft Dining Quarter at Meadowhall is now underway, with the redevelopment due to be completed by October.
The redesign will create two very distinct areas in the centre’s catering offer; a formal 34,000sq ft dining space on the upper level, and a redesigned lower level totalling 27,000sq ft and featuring three new specially designed kiosks.
A mezzanine level with intimate and informal areas to eat in a modern and flexible environment has also been created and will increase the overall seating capacity.
Joffe said: “The choice of location for any new restaurant is very important for us and we feel Meadowhall works for our brand across all levels from the customer to location. The Oasis Dinning Quarter is set to raise the bar for all other shopping centres’ and we are pleased to be part of this new development, offering a family orientated experience for guests.”
Alice Keown at Davis Coffer Lyons, leisure agent for the scheme, said: “The catering offer at Meadowhall is playing an increasingly key role in driving both footfall and sales. It was therefore essential that the centre provides not only the nation’s most loved brands like Giraffe, but also that the catering environment complements the increasingly popular shopping destination by offering a really attractive and vibrant place for people to relax and refresh.”
