A host of new eateries including Frankie & Benny’s, a handmade burger specialist and an Italian restaurant will open near Liverpool’s Central Station, as the delayed Central Village scheme continues on site.

According to a development report by Liverpool Vision released this week, the Central Village scheme including the Lewis’s Building and the area behind Central Station  ‘continues on site’ and will see new brands such as Frankie & Benny’s, Costa Coffee, Prezzo and Handmade Burger Co move in.

Frankie & Benny’s already has sites in Fazakerley, Aintree and Edge Lane but until now has not had a city centre venue. Handmade Burger Co does not have a Liverpool restaurant, but has proved popular in other cities where it specializes in sourdough or brioche buns and hand-mixed milkshakes.

Meanwhile, Italian chain restaurant Prezzo currently has a site in New Brighton but is planning another venue in the Liverpool scheme, with work on the Lewis’s Building set to be completed ‘within months’.

Lidl will also be taking space at Central Village in the former Lewis’s building, while an office development is currently being built in the former Watson Building and will be named ‘The Department’.

The report says: “Merepark’s Central Village scheme continues on site. The former Lewis’s Building has already partly opened with the Adagio Aparthotel, whilst the remaining sections with offices, a gym and ground floors with over 100,000 square feet of retail/leisure elements are due to complete in the next few months. Amongst the major brands moving in will be Costa Coffee, Frankie & Benny’s, Prezzo Handmade Burger Co, and Lidl.”

The Central Village scheme, which originally included an Odeon cinema, a 442-room hotel, a ‘boardwalk’ with shops and leisure units, a residential tower and office space, has been beset with delays since it was announced several years ago. Construction company Merepark Construction entered liquidation in 2013, delaying the build until a new construction company was found.

The scheme includes the landmark Lewis’s Building and has already seen hotel brand Adagio and Pure Gyms move in.

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