East Belfast: New Business For Ballyhackamore

Work is well underway at the old Ulster Bank site in Ballyhackamore but what will it be?

Well, the guessing games are now over as it has been announced that the two units will contain essentially food businesses in the form of coffee house Caffe Nero and pizza restaurant Pizza Express. At present is it unknown the number of new jobs it will bring to the area but the opening which is expected in early spring has been widely welcomed.

Property agents TDK Property Consultants, announced the lettings on its website, it said:

'Advised by TDK, EA Lonergan Ltd purchased the former Ulster Bank in Ballyhackamore and targeted restaurant national operators which would complement the strong offer already present in Ballyhackamore. Ballyhackamore is increasingly seen as one of the premier restaurant destinations outside Belfast City Centre, with restaurants such a Graze, Il Pirata, Greens and Little Wing already present and trading strongly.'

It continued, 'Ciara Lewis of EA Lonergan Ltd commented 'working with TDK we were delighted to identify this location to roll out another restaurant destination. Ballyhackamore is an extremely strong location and one which we are confident will benefit from the presence of Pizza Express and Caffe Nero''.

Editorial

More jobs, more business who could complain? From a consumer perspective it is a win win situation at Ballyhackamore but if there is one note of caution it is this, competition among food service providers such as cafes, restaurants and takeaways is now considerable. With more units soon to be let in Ballyhackamore there a danger of it changing to a mainly evening trade area or is there a danger that the area can not support so many food businesses. Only time will time but with the new rapid transit scheme having reduced parking and new restrictions set to remove all parking on the Upper Newtownards Road once the bus lanes go operational 12 hours a day, shoppers may have no option but to shop elsewhere during the day.

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