A NEW burger and fried chicken restaurant will be moving into the former Pizza Express on St Mary's Butts in Reading, after weeks of confusion as to what food the shop will serve.

Gourtmet4, a food marketplace business, agreed to a new 10-year lease, without a break, for £80,000 rent (per year) in the site on 55 St Mary's Butts, Reading town centre in June, but did not reveal which of their in-house brands would be using the site.

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The company revealed that three of their in-house brands, Fat Burgers, a fast-food burger restaurant, Smokin' Buns, a gourmet burger outlet, and Saucy Chicks, a friend chicken shop, would be moving into the facility by the end of this month.

A spokesman revealed that the business will operate as a 'dark kitchen', producing food exclusively for delivery, for the first two weeks of opening before it allows for a dine-in experience.

Reading Chronicle:

The facility, part of the 15 Goumet4 branches currently operating nation-wide, was expected to open last week however this opening date has been pushed back to "within the next 10 days," the spokesman confirmed.

On their website, commercial property consultants Hicks Baker detailed the process of the agreement.

A spokesman said on the site: "Due to dealing with a number of ‘fitted’ restaurants during the pandemic, we were familiar with the expanding operators who were seeking restaurants that required minimal re-fits and were therefore able to place this property quickly.

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"Terms were agreed with Gourmet4, who had recently made their London debut - they are a food marketplace business, whereby four featured kitchens will be occupied by Gourmet4’s own brands."

The Gourmet4 brands are currently looking to hire staff. To find out more on job opportunities, email piash365@gmail.com.