Fifty jobs will be created in Leeds when a major restaurant chain opens its first base in the north of England.
The gourmet Asian buffet chain COSMO is establishing a restaurant in the New Front leisure scheme in the city’s Merrion Centre.
The New Front development stands next to the site of the 13,500 capacity Leeds Arena, which is due to open in September next year.
COSMO restaurants offer 120 dishes from China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Mongolia, Singapore, Vietnam and India.
The chain specialises in live cooking demonstrations, so customers can watch their food being prepared as part of the dining experience, at an ‘all you can eat’ set price.
Helen Beckett, the associate director for Town Centre Securities (TCS), the company behind the New Front development, said: “The New Front scheme is now 80 per cent let. We’re thrilled that COSMO has chosen Leeds for its first restaurant in the north.
“They are best in class for a fixed price gourmet buffet restaurant and will prove popular with Arena visitors, shoppers and office workers alike.
“We are creating a vibrant leisure destination location, alongside the Leeds Arena which has the ambition to be one of the top five venues of its kind in the world. It will attract a million visitors and bring an estimated £25m into the Leeds economy every year.
“We expect to announce new lettings by the end of 2012. The Arena is a key catalyst for regeneration in the area,”
The New Front scheme will be a leisure destination with bars, cafes, restaurants and a gym along Merrion Way and Wade Lane.
New Front also includes an area designed for continental–style street café seating.
The development has a 1,000 space multi-storey car park, which will undergo a complete refurbishment and upgrade, creating state-of-the-art parking for shoppers, visitors and Arena users.
Leeds-based commercial law firm, Shulmans acted on behalf of TCS.
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