£2m new-look Eastgate Shopping Centre food zone opens tomorrow
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The revamped food zone at Eastgate Shopping Centre in Inverness will open tomorrow.
It follows investment in excess of £2 million in the area that will be known as Loch & Larder.
A range of offerings will aim to pull people in, including Scottish Kitchen by Gary Maclean – who won MasterChef: The Professionals in 2016.
It will open in time for Valentine's Day after suffering delays to its original December target.
A spokesman for the centre described the collection of food and drink available as exciting, adding: "The emphasis will be on ambience and good quality local produce with a street food twist.
"Loch & Larder will become a place to meet, socialise and people watch. In the ever-changing world of retail, leisure and catering are becoming ever more important. The new food collective will be a destination that will drive footfall to the centre. Its appeal should span both locals and tourists with the potential to trade later into the evening as the new, exciting brand becomes established."
Centre manager Chris Kershaw said: "We are absolutely delighted to confirm that our operational partners, Aramark, have agreed an exclusive partnership with Scotland’s national chef Gary Maclean for the new food collective in the heart of Eastgate."
Other brands opening will be Cluck, inver mercato, Sweet Ness and Ness n Korma. Fairground Café will join the mix when it opens later this month.
There will be free family entertainment at Loch & Larder on Saturday (February 18), including face-painting and balloon modelling from noon-4pm. Similar entertainment the following day will run from noon-3pm.
