Black Country dessert chain opening new shop in West Bromwich

In a six-figure deal put together by the town's property agents, Bond Wolfe, the Little Dessert Shop has bought a former Pizza Hut outlet at Unit 11, the Farley Centre, on High Street. Owner Mu'azzam Ali already has outlets in Wolverhampton and Wolverhampton Street in Wednesfield. He hopes that the new 3,324 sq ft premises in West Bromwich will be open some time in May.

Founded in 2014, independently run and family-owned, the Little Dessert Shop offers a choice of cakes, crepes, waffles, fondue, sundaes and more than 40 flavours of ice cream, gelatos and sorbets.

Mr Ali said: "It will create 40 to 50 jobs which will take the total across the three shops to 120.

"We wanted to take the unassuming dessert and turn it into a creative masterpiece for all to enjoy, born out of a love for fine foods. We use only the finest ingredients from as far away as Italy."

Bond Wolfe managing director James Mattin said: "It certainly seems to work – there were queues out of the door for months after the first shop opened.

"Demand for West Bromwich High Street retail units is boisterous. Indeed the remainder of this parade is under offer and inventory along the High Street is very low due to the increase in demand for the town centre."

The chain opened its second outlet in Wednesfield in November, after the runaway success of its flagship branch in Queen Street.

Tens of thousands have piled into the city centre shop since it first opened its doors in May, with long queues often stretching down the street and hungry customers getting in line before it even opens.

Due to the phenomenal demand, a second takeaway-only branch opened in Wednesfield, which created 15 jobs.

The latest shop will stick largely to the successful Queen Street menu, but also offer a new variety of cakes including mint and Oreo, bubblegum Oreo and a Snickers cookie dough pizza.

The site will also act as a training hub for staff across the shops.

Shop bosses also celebrated winning a national award late last year.

The shop fought off fierce competition to be crowned the Dessert Outlet of the Year at the Food Awards England 2015, held in Manchester.

They beat the likes of the Delicious Dessert Lounge in Coventry and Sprinkles Gelato in Southampton to scoop the title at the awards evening which took place last November.