Host of new restaurants opening in Dorchester's Brewery Square

Three new restaurants are opening their doors in the Brewery Square development as well as a Costa coffee shop as the town embraces a ‘major cultural shift’.

Pizza Express will be the first venue to open to the public on Thursday.

Japanese restaurant and noodle bar Wagamama will follow suit the next day with Italian restaurant Zizzi opening in the county town on Saturday.

Costa will also be opening on Saturday.

A spokesman for Pizza Express said: “We are delighted to be part of Brewery Square and the team can’t wait to start welcoming customers.”

Zizzi general manager Adrian Rawlings said he was looking forward to opening the chain’s latest establishment in a ‘unique location’.

He said: “We are so excited about the launch of this new restaurant.

“It will be the 128th restaurant nationwide and because of its unique location and innovative design we think it will be one of our most exciting ventures yet.

“Beautifully balancing the traditional with the contemporary, this restaurant is perfectly designed to be at the helm of our exciting spring menu launch.”

The raft of new businesses will add to the Premier Inn hotel, Carluccio’s and Nando’s restaurants and Odeon Cinema already at the development.

Retail units will open in the coming weeks as the central square of the £100million development takes shape.

The new restaurants opening this week will create over 100 jobs between them and Andrew Wadsworth, director of Waterhouse, which is developing the site in partnership with Resolution Property, said they will add to a site that was already creating a new evening culture for Dorchester.

He said: “I think this is about creating an evening culture in the town.

“You only have to stand in Dray Horse Yard to see how many people are there in the evening and look at the Market car park opposite which is up to two thirds full.

“That’s a major cultural shift in the town of having good places for people to go out in the evening.”