THREE new food and drink businesses are set to create nearly 30 jobs between them after securing grants worth a combined £220,000.

The biggest employer will be halal restaurant Marco & Carl, which will create 14 jobs when it opens at the Leisure Exchange later this month.

The Italian-American restaurant is opening in the unit left vacant by the closure of pan-Asian eatery East around two years ago.

It will be the company’s third restaurant, joining existing outlets in Preston and Leicester.

Marco & Carl secured a business rate rebate grant of £60,000 from Bradford Council’s City Centre Growth Zone scheme, which is available to new or expanding businesses and is worth up to £16,000 for every job created.

Another establishment that opens this month is Smith & Co Bar and Brasserie, which has moved into a vacant unit in Ivegate.

The team behind the venture is the Westgate Social Club, which last year opened a new nightspot in the former New Packhorse on Westgate.

This time, they have refurbished the unit recently vacated by Bradford Brewery’s Made of Bradford pop-up bar, using a capital grant of £60,000 from the City Centre Growth Zone’s Priority Streets scheme, which is designed to tempt businesses into eight key streets.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the building was home to Philip Smith butchers, who were famous for their pork pies.

The bar hopes to tap into that tradition by producing pies based on the original Philip Smith recipe.

And an independent cafe currently seeking seeking planning permission to open in Bradford’s historic Wool Exchange has also secured a grant.

Ten new jobs would be created by the opening of Tiffin Coffee Ltd in a unit that was vacated last summer when the previous occupant - the Health Assessment Centre - relocated.

Tiffin Coffee Ltd has benefited from a £100,000 Priority Streets grant, which will be used to refurbish the premises and fit it out with new equipment.

The business aims to give the venue on Bank Street some ‘olde world’ charm, in line with the surroundings of the Grade I listed building.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s executive member for regeneration, planning and transport, welcomed the developments.

He said: “These new independent businesses will make a great addition to the food and drink offer in Bradford. They bring something a bit different to the city centre and add to the fantastic cultural mix we celebrate here.”