Inverness city centre piri-piri takeaway Maeme’s gets green light from Highland Council for Eastgate Shopping Centre site
A new piri-piri chicken restaurant and takeaway is set to open in Inverness city centre after it was given the green light by Highland Council.
The chain Maeme's, which runs a number of piri-piri chicken grills in more than a dozen locations across the UK - including Aberdeen - is expected to create up to nine new jobs when it opens its doors in Unit 4 of the Eastgate Centre.
The unit, which has entrances inside the shopping centre and on the street, is located next to the ground-floor entrance at the Eastgate Centre’s Eastgate entrance where the Eastgate, Crown Road and Stephen’s Brae meet.
The unit is the site of a former Game store, which has since relocated inside the city's Sports Direct outlet.
Plans for the piri-piri restaurant first emerged back in April, when plans for new Maeme-branded signage on the unit's exterior were lodged with Highland Council.
A separate application changing the use of the outlet from a retail shop to a takeaway was also then lodged.
Approval for the takeaway has now been granted by Highland Council officers, although work on the site will not go ahead until details of the external finish of the restaurant's new flue are approved. This was a condition attached to the approval by council planners after the local authority’s historic environment team requested the flue be given a matt colour finish that reflects the background building rather than shiny stainless steel or galvanised metal.
That condition was due to the unit's location on the boundary of the city's conservation area.
A date for the restaurant’s opening has not yet been given, but the firm’s website lists it as “coming soon”.
Once open it will have 20 dining seats inside, with a further eight outside the eatery but inside the entrance of the shopping centre.
Speaking to the Inverness Courier when the proposals first emerged back in April, Eastgate Shopping Centre manager Chris Kershaw said it was good news for Inverness city centre. He said: “It’s absolutely good news. It will add something to the city centre. I don’t think we’ve got another piri-piri restaurant in the city centre itself which will be nice for those enjoying a night out.”
