German Doner Kebab and Burger & Sauce to open next to each other in Wolverhampton city centre
Wolverhampton could soon have an unofficial food quarter after two restaurants announced plans to open next to each other in the city centre.
German Doner Kebab is set to take over a vacant store on Queen Street, while Burger & Sauce is preparing to open at the old Wolverhampton Homes building next door on the corner of Market Street.
Queen Street is already home to the city's new branch of KFC, as well as Pound Bakery and eat99, all of which sit on the stretch opposite McDonald's. Two Greggs shops are also in the vicinity, along with bar and restaurant Lupo Lounge, Subway and Momo's Express Peri Peri Grill House.
The new restaurants are currently been fitted out and will create a number of jobs once open.
Law student Saadiya Nawaz has taken over the franchise for the city's Burger & Sauce, which is set to open this summer. She said: "The brand brings a freshness to the market which is just not found with other fast-food outlets.
"It is this freshness which has spurred the growth in demand and that makes the franchise opportunity so exciting. There is a lot of potential for the future."
She added: "I am now looking forward to building the business and Burger & Sauce becoming the household name for fresh burgers in Wolverhampton!"
It marks a major boost for the city centre, which for years has been blighted by empty shops and low footfall, and comes after Tesco submitted plans to open a Tesco Express on Dudley Street, seven years after closing down its Mander Centre store.
Councillor Qaiser Azeem, who represents St Peter's ward, which includes the city centre, said he hoped to see more empty stores filled in the near future.
"This is great news," he said. "There have been difficulties for the city centre post-pandemic for various reasons, particularly with people changing their shopping habits.
"In this area of the city we have seen KFC opening up and it is good to see that other places are now coming in.
"Hopefully we will start to see more empty shops getting filled in the city."
German Doner Kebab was founded in Berlin in 1989 and has a UK headquarters in Glasgow. In the Black Country it has branches on Littleton Street, Walsall, as well as High Street, West Bromwich and the Merry Hill Centre.
It recently opened its 128th UK outlet in Weston-super-Mare and plans to launch another 400 stores across the world over the next seven years.
Birmingham firm Burger & Sauce was set up during the pandemic and is also expanding, having opened branches in Walsall and West Bromwich.
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