Japanese restaurant Panko & Sushi is set to open at the Goods Yard development in Stoke-on-Trent following an investment of almost £250,000 and the creation of 40 new jobs.
The venue, which joins branches in Bury and Macclesfield, will open its doors at the Capital & Centric development in Stoke on Friday, 13 March, and operate seven days a week from 12pm to 9.30pm.
Owner Ed Cayton has invested ‘close to a quarter of a million pounds’ into the restaurant, which has been designed to recreate the look and feel of a Japanese street, featuring wooden tones, views of Mount Fuji and a traditional bridge.
The venue will seat around 60 diners inside, with additional outdoor seating during the summer months. Takeaways will also be available.
Ed said: “When you step into the restaurant you are transported away from Stoke to a street in Japan. I want people who have never been to Japan to have a real insight into what it is like while they are slurping their ramen.”
The menu will include sushi, ramen, katsu curry, bao buns and teriyaki dishes. Special offers will include student discounts and lunch deals such as two courses for £13.95.
Diners will receive 30 per cent off the à la carte menu until the end of March as a launch offer, as well as a free five-piece sushi dish for the first 200 customers through the door on its opening day.
Ed said: “The menu has been designed to be affordable, with students in mind. We are bringing Manchester-quality sushi for a fraction of the price.”
Chefs, who hold shares in the business, have been trained in-house at Panko & Sushi’s other restaurants ahead of the Stoke opening, while recruitment for additional full- and part-time roles is ongoing.
Ed said: “The difference between this company and others is that our chefs have got shares in the business. Our staff are loyal and ambitious, and grow with the company. It’s their business as well. That’s what I’m about – I really believe in investing in people.”
The restaurant had originally been scheduled to open in October, but Ed said the team had taken extra time to ensure everything was ready.
He said: “We would have liked to have opened sooner but I feel that to fit out an empty unit in the time we have taken is a great achievement.
“We wanted to get it all right and we have put lots of detail into it. To open in the first quarter of this year is brilliant. Nobody will be disappointed when they visit and I can’t wait to open.
“I hope to work with Capital & Centric in the future, and if the opportunity arises I would like to open in Newcastle as well.”
Panko & Sushi will also take part in Capital & Centric’s Friday Feast event at Goods Yard on Friday, 24 April, from 5pm to 10pm, alongside Fire & Slice, Feast of the East, Kusina, Backyard Burgers, Fabulous Fizz Bar and Street Van, with a DJ and live music.
- For more information or to apply to work at the restaurant, email stoke@pankoandsushi.com
