The growing chain has taken on the city’s former Jamie Oliver’s Trattoria site, which closed after the chef’s restaurant group entered a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) in January.
Middletons, which has an annual turnover of approximately £15m, says it is negotiating on an additional two locations which it aims to open in 2019.
The group has invested £500,000 in revamping the 170-cover Chelmsford restaurant, which will serve steak and mixed grill sourced from its own butchery in Middleton, in Norfolk, as well as seafood, vegetarian and vegan options when it opens in December.
“The site has only been closed for around nine months, and we’ve been able to quickly turn this around with a £500,000 investment," says Stephen Hutton, managing director of Middletons. "It feels good to be bringing another prime city centre location back to life.”
Middletons opened its debut site just outside Kings Lynn in 2011 and now employs 300 staff across locations in Norwich, Colchester, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Leicester and Watford.