The St David’s Partnership, owners of St David’s in Cardiff, one of the UK’s premier retail and leisure destinations, has announced enhancements by two of its food operators, YO! Sushi and TGI Friday’s.
Following the brand’s success within St David’s, YO! Sushi have refurbished their 2,200 sq ft restaurant on the Lower East Side Arcade to enhance the dining experience for its customers. The redesign was overseen by Alison Cooper from Innsight Design, with a brief to create a lighter, brighter environment. The refurbishment incorporates modern features such as USB chargers at every table and new LED screens showing branded content.
On the Upper East Side Arcade, TGI Friday’s have worked with designers 4D (UK) to create more comfortable and luxurious seating areas within the existing 9,500 sq ft restaurant. Larger tables have been replaced with booths and smaller more intimate tables, to help with flow and flexibility, and create a much more enjoyable atmosphere and space. The works will increase its overall number of covers to 304. New lighting has been installed throughout, and on the ground floor new external seating added. Finally, the signage has been given a refresh, with an eye-catching bright theatre bulb sign.
A YO! Sushi spokesperson commented, “Our St David’s site continues to grow from strength to strength, and we are keen to take the customer’s experience to the next level through this new design and use of technology. Deciding to enhance here was key due to the high footfall and exposure to our core customer catchment, and we look forward to working with The St David’s Partnership to make this location even more popular.”
Speaking on behalf of the St David’s Partnership, a joint venture between Landsec and intu, Colin Flinn, the regional managing director at intu, added, “The impetus from leading restaurant brands such as YO! Sushi and TGI Friday’s to advance in St David’s is a clear marker of the scheme’s success and importance to those brands within the UK market as a whole. We are delighted they are building on this success and creating a more appealing offer for customers.”
The news follows the recent announcement that Byron is to launch its first restaurant in Wales at the centre this September. In addition, Caffè Nero recently joined St David’s with the launch of a 1,142 sq ft café on Cathedral Walk last month.
St David’s is anchored by the largest John Lewis outside London, Debenhams and Marks & Spencer, and also has 200 other shops and restaurants. The dining offer at St David’s includes Jamie’s Italian, Wagamama and Wahaca.