Cheffins has recently let the former Café Rouge building at 25/26 Bridge Street, Cambridge on behalf of Magdalene College to Gastropubs Ltd, trading as Middleton Steakhouse & Grill
Totalling over 3,991 sq ft, the building has two floors of restaurant seating as well as second floor and basement. The property has been let for in excess of its quoting rental of £80,000 pa.
Edward Dodson, Director, Cheffins, said: “The unit came available following Café Rouge’s parent company falling into administration in July. With a prominent location on Bridge Street, in the centre of the historic city and very close to the River Cam, the unit attracted significant interest from a range of local and national businesses. This recent letting goes to show that there is still significant appetite for restaurant units in Cambridge city centre if they are in the best locations and offer competitive rental prices.”
The building is currently undergoing a £500,000 refurbishment and fit-out programme by Middletons Steakhouse & Grill and is set to open from Monday 7th December, subject to Government guidelines.
Stephen Hutton, managing director of Middletons Steakhouse & Grill, said: “We’re determined to keep bucking the trend and keep expanding at a time when so many businesses, sadly, are feeling the negative effects of the pandemic. We are absolutely delighted, as Cambridge has been our top-target city for the last six years and its brilliant news that we can finally open a restaurant here. We are confident that, with the right investor support, we can take the Middletons brand nationwide.”
Middletons, who opened its first restaurant just outside King’s Lynn in 2011, now employs around 275 staff and has an annual turnover of £15million. The chain’s latest move will bring up over 50 jobs to Cambridge before Christmas while having enough room to entertain about 100 customers, allowing for social distancing.
Edward Dodson further comments “whilst it is very sad to see names such as Café Rouge disappearing, the Covid situation is bringing a host of new names and restaurant concepts to the market and we are going to see a significant changing of the guard over the next two years. We now have a significant number of high quality restaurants all actively seeking space in Cambridge and looking to take advantage of the new planning regime which gives more opportunity for restaurant use.”
For more information on the property, contact Edward Dodson at Cheffins, edward.dodson@cheffins.co.uk