550-seat Thai restaurant planned for Manchester

A food packing company plans to open a 550-seat Thai restaurant in East Manchester at a cost of about £2m.

Seamark, which processes seafood and poultry, is building the restaurant as part of its £10m development near the Commonwealth Games SportCity complex.

Building work began in August and the two-storey restaurant, to be called Chim Chim, is due to open in early 2006.

The project, for which the company received £2m in funding from the Northwest Regional Development Agency, includes a wholesale outlet and warehouse.

Tom Russell, chief executive of urban regeneration company New East Manchester, said: "Seamark's commitment to East Manchester is a massive boost to the regeneration of the area. It is great news in terms of the growth of the economy and the job opportunities."

The overall development will create 185 new jobs, with 60-65 of these at the restaurant.

by Tom Bill

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