Taste the Orient: Plans for Oriental supermarket to built separate basement café near Leeds university approved

Taste the Orient filed an application to extend their current Blenheim Terrace restaurant back in November 2021. 

The application, submitted to Leeds City Council, outlined plans for a separate new basement coffee shop with new shop front access next to the current venue near the Parkinson Building, and a rear extraction duct for the operating first floor café and restaurant. 

It seeks to move the café element of the business from the first floor into the basement, and states that this will require a new shop front.

In the proposal, submitted on behalf of Mr Youfeng Jiang, read: “The previous E-Class use has been altered from Blackwell’s and Costa Coffee to a E-Class ground floor retail unit and first floor café/restaurant. The basement will also be altered to form a coffee shop. 

“An external flux system is required to ventilate the kitchen area on the first floor. The external flux would be installed to the rear elevation of the property, away from all windows and kept to a low level, minimum 1m above the existing flat roof. The café/restaurant serves authentic Chinese food and forms part of the retail unit. 

“For the basement coffee shop area, a new shop front is required, a signage application will be submitted as a separate planning application. The shop front will be in keeping with the area and not detract from the nearby listed buildings.”

Leeds City Council granted the application full planning permission on Tuesday September 26.