Hammerson has launched Spiceal Street, a new restaurant quarter at Bullring shopping center in Birmingham.
The 1,860-m² extension has attracted three new restaurant brands and is set around St Martin's Square and the iconic Selfridges building.
Opening its UK flagship restaurant at Spiceal Street is Birmingham-based handmade burger Co. which pioneers local fresh food and ingredients. Thai banquet-style ChaoBaby, and Browns Bar and Brasserie are both new to the city. As part of the development existing restaurants Nando's and Pizza Hut have extended their trading space by 54% and 20% respectively.
The £7.5-million (approx. 8.7-million) investment in Birmingham has also created 105 new permanent jobs for people in the city.
Lawrence Hutchings, Hammerson Managing Director UK Retail commented: "Shopping has become much more about an overall experience and while we have a fantastic fashion offer here at Bullring we wanted to create a destination which delivers great food in a striking environment."
"Consumers' enthusiasm for dining out has remained strong despite the economic climate and we had an exceptional response from restaurant brands for the space. The three brands opening today undoubtedly add an extra dimension to both Bullring and Birmingham."
The scheme, designed by architects Chapman Taylor, is named after the original Spiceal Street, and takes its name from the medieval word for spice merchant dating back to the area's roots as a market street in the 1700's.
Also unveiled today as part of the new scheme was a public art commission, 'Timbre', created by Wolfgang Buttress using reclaimed copper from the relocated Spiral Café, as well as a new green wall feature and water installation, which contains poetry co-written by two local artists.
Bullring opened in 2003 in the heart of the UK's second city and is home to over 160 shops and 28 restaurants/cafes. Selfridges and Debenhams anchor the shopping center, which was chosen as the first European location for Forever 21 and boasts a range of prestigious international brands including COS, Hollister and Hugo Boss.
Hammerson was one of the original developers of Bullring. It is now owned in a three-way joint venture between Hammerson, Henderson Global Investors and Future Fund.
Source: Hammerson
