A RESTAURANT chain will be opening a central kitchen in Bradford, and says it will help the business succeed in an increasingly uncertain  market.

Estabulo, a Brazilian restaurant with chains across the North, plans to open a new restaurant in the Broadway Shopping Centre in the coming months.

But in addition to that, the company applied to set up a central kitchen in Bradford, where ingredients can be prepared before being sent off to its various restaurants.

In Spring the company submitted a planning application to Bradford Council to change the use of Media House, a large light industrial building on the Thornton Road Industrial Estate, to a central kitchen.

The company’s application said this new business model would help the business recover from covid and the impact of the Ukraine war.

Planning officers have now approved the application.

Estabulo first announced plans to open a new restaurant on Charles Street in 2020.

Subsequent applications for the unit, between Zizzi and Tiffin Grande, have revealed that it will have seating for up to 300 people.

This new application says the Bradford branch will be part of the company’s new restaurant concept – a hybrid of Japanese and Brazilian food. It will be called Sakkusamba.

No opening date has yet been revealed.

The application says: “In view of the recent unprecedented times as a result of Covid-19 and now the uncertainty of the Russian conflict, many large chain hospitality trades have been affected and caused many casualties.

“However, in order to stay ahead, Estabulo have forecasted a surge in demand when the lockdown is totally lifted and when the Russian conflict subside, therefore there will be a need to enlarge the existing internal seating capacity and a facelift maybe needed to re-attract diners back into the restaurants.

“In order to maintain the maximum seating capacity to cope, some existing kitchen facilities may need to be reduced in size so that more seating can be accommodated.

“In this way, it will assist with meeting the capacity demand and at the same time create a more hustle and bustle environment and promoting a cosmopolitan feel that makes the restaurant more attractive with signs of life and activities.

“Since Estabulo has a chain of restaurants, it makes sense to propose a central kitchen where all food are being prepared for all their restaurants in a central location and delivered to their respective restaurants.

“Its location is ideal since it is central to all their restaurants and can easily be dispatched with 1 hour drive time.”

Planning officers at Bradford Council approved the application earlier this month.