The former Boots store in Cliftonville is set to become a Pepe’s piri piri chicken shop.
Plans have been submitted by the restaurant chain for change of use plus installation of new shop front, signs and installation of extraction flue to the rear.
Pepe’s has more than 250 venues across the UK and in Ireland, Pakistan, UAE and Morocco. The brand initially launched in 2007 with one London outlet.
Its menu includes signature flame-grilled chicken, a Chick’n’Rice box, as well as a variety of other offerings including vegetarian options.
Expected opening hours are listed as 11am to 11pm.
Stores are on a franchise with a required minimum investment of £300,000.
The Boots store shut in 2024 and the site has been vacant since then.
Last year bakery chain Greggs submitted plans to open at the site. The planning application provoked Cliffs independent coffee shop, which has traded in Northdown Road since 2016, to launch the petition sharing concern that the opening will hit the roads indie cafes and bakery outlets.
Greggs withdrew its plans in February this year.
A decision on the Pepe’s application is yet to be made.
Pepe’s has been contacted for further details.
Same old rubbish. Why can’t we get French-style or decent fish restaurants locally?
YES I AGREE LOVE FRENCH BREAD.
It speaks volumes that despite an increasingly aging and disabled population and others reliant on a plethora of medications that Boots the Chemist is not viable in a shopping and residential area – but a cooked chicken out let is . . .
How’s this going to effect other independent fried chicken sellers in Northdown Road? Someone should start a petition.