Plans for a new Ivy restaurant in Belfast have been hailed as "a great addition" to the city centre.
Belfast Chamber chief executive Simon Hamilton was responding to news that a prime city centre site could soon be transformed from a fast food restaurant into a fine dining experience.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Burger King was set to move from its iconic location at Cleaver House on Donegall Place to Victoria Square.
It marked an end of an era, with the popular outlet having opened 37 years ago.
Now the Ivy restaurant chain, known for its upmarket brasseries and neighbourhood cafés, wants to open a restaurant at Units 3 and 4 of 56 Cleaver House - the site previously occupied by Burger King.
Troia (UK) Restaurants Limited has applied to Belfast City Council's planning committee for permission to create a new two-storey franchise eaterie at Cleaver House on the corner of Donegall Place and Donegall Square North, a landmark six floor building of retail and office accommodation.
The proposed internal works involve the removal and stripping out of non-historical features including stud walls; shop and restaurant fit out; existing kitchen equipment; modern staircase; toilet block; floor finishes; suspended grid ceiling and plaster board ceiling on ground floor and first floor levels.
Also planned are external wall finishes such as tiling and timber panelling and all existing mep (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) services to accommodate building survey works of original features.
Mr Hamilton told Belfast Live: “The Ivy would be a great addition to Belfast city centre. The restaurant has established a presence in other cities across the UK and Ireland. Its arrival in Belfast would be a positive sign for our city and a vote of confidence in Belfast.
“We are fortunate to have a super hospitality sector in Belfast already and alongside our excellent existing offering, the Ivy will be welcomed by people here and be attractive to visitors too”.
Top chef and broadcaster Paula McIntyre has also welcomed the plan.
"I love that old Robinson and Cleaver building and I thought having a Burger King in it was a disservice to it. I think The Ivy is a much more fitting brand and it will liven up the city centre a bit too," she said.
The Ivy restaurant has been a firm fixture on London’s dining and social scene since 1917 and famed as a long-standing celebrity haunt.
Another Ivy restaurant opened on Dublin’s Dawson Street in 2018 and prides itself for its "glamourous art-deco detail, polished marble floors and striking burnt orange banquettes".
When contacted about the Belfast plans, a spokeswoman for The Ivy Collection said they weren’t "able to comment at this moment in time".
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