New jobs as restaurant to open at Arena site

Buffet restaurant COSMO is the latest tenant at Town Centre Securities’ New Front leisure scheme at the Merrion Centre, which is due to open at Easter 2014.

COSMO joins Pure Gym and Costa Coffee at the 80,000 sq ft of leisure space, which comprises 10 new units.

COSMO, which was founded in 2003, has 12 restaurants, including one in Doncaster, and plans to increase this to 20 by the end of 2014.

Fit-out of the 12,500 sq ft restaurant is now underway and the company has recruited local people to its operations team. It will advertise the full and part-time positions in the New Year.

Tas Nicolaou, COSMO’s brand marketing executive, said: “By the end of 2014, we will have four new restaurants in Yorkshire which demonstrates our confidence in the leisure sector in the region.

“With the launch of the First Direct Arena, Leeds has such vibrancy and we are excited to be bringing our cuisine to the city.

“Our best performing current restaurant is located within a leisure centre in Edinburgh so we recognise the appeal of having our restaurants within quality retail and leisure centres and the New Front is a perfect example of this.

“The location is superb and the unit works really well for us. With the opening of our Leeds, Sheffield and York restaurants it’s a very exciting time for us in the North and we are looking forward to meeting our new employees once the recruitment process is complete.”

Helen Green, associate director of estates for Town Centre Securities, said: “COSMO has such a strong track record that we are delighted to be bringing it to the people of Leeds and further boosting the City’s Arena Quarter.

“The whole dining concept has such broad appeal as the restaurant can accommodate a range of customers from individuals to large parties. It will naturally appeal to shoppers, workers and visitors to the Arena as meals can be as leisurely or speedy as desired.

“With Pure Gym now open and Costa Coffee set to open its doors before the end of the year, New Front is really taking off and we look forward to welcoming all our new tenants.”