Lovers of all things chicken are rejoicing today after Nando’s opened in Straiton Retail Park.
Rumours have circulated about the brand’s arrival for years but on Wednesday 20 January fans finally got to step foot within a new purpose built restaurant in the Peel Pentland Centre (aka Straiton Retail Park).
Nando’s agreed a 15 year lease on the 3,600 sq. ft. new build restaurant last year allowing contractor MUIR to begin construction of the new unit on the upper tier of the park in September 2015. Construction was completed in December and the unique fit out by the chain followed, including a special exterior mural of a love heart.
The new Nando’s Restaurant, will further enhance the food and beverage amenities already available at Straiton, Frankie & Bennies and Costa Coffee, and broadens the leisure offering of the park drawing customers from the wider catchment to the shopping destination with the view of lengthening dwell times.
The opening has created 30 new jobs and provides seats for 128 diners, all of whom will probably be visiting to sample the famous Peri-Peri recipes served.
David Greenan Regional Managing Director for Nandos says:
We’re really excited to open the doors to this stunning new restaurant. The team here are fired up to bring our legendary PERi-PERi chicken to our visitors of Straiton Retail Park.
Kevin Keigher Asset & Development Manager for the park says:
We are pleased to be in a position to open doors to the public following the delivery of another successful development at Straiton. We feel the addition will further broaden the depth of the offer at the retail park and compliment the ever evolving and improving line up. The completion of this transaction sees another milestone reached within the Straiton business plan.
A spokesperson for park owner Peel added:
Peel plans to extend the food and beverage offering at Straiton Retail Park further in the near future and are working on the wider strategy for leisure at the park.
Plans already on the table include a second Costa Coffee outlet in a new 50,000 sq.ft Next unit. Construction of the new store is well underway, with the former Homebase being transformed into a modern miniature department store; stationery shop Paperchase and jeweller Beaverbrooks are believed to have leased concessions within the floorspace.
Work in the park is also underway to convert Unit 3A for use by a new tenant, though further details are forthcoming. Deforestation on the western banks of the Pentland Centre has also been undertaken to increase the visibility of Sainsbury’s and the upper tier. An announcement on further developments is expected shortly.