BRANDING is up for a new takeaway in the centre of Hereford.

A black and blue sign displaying the words ‘Bistro 61’, ‘breakfast’, ‘lunch’ and ‘Italian coffee’ has appeared on the shopfront of 61 Commercial Street.

Images of various international dishes have also been affixed to the shopfront, hinting that the bistro will be serving food in culinary styles from across the world.

This follows an application submitted by the Leicestershire-based Design Project Management Services on behalf of Bistro 61 in 2023 seeking permission to convert the unit into a takeaway restaurant with a seating area inside and on the pedestrianised street in front.

The first floor, currently an office and storeroom, was to be converted into a manager’s bedsit flat, while the second floor would be retained as a staff kitchen and toilets.

As the building is grade II listed, the plan also needed consent for planned internal alterations and a new shopfront. An earlier proposal was withdrawn following objections that not enough information had been supplied on this.

The revised plan then dropped the previously proposed new frontage, of folding glass doors giving onto an outdoor seating area at the front.

The premises, which appears to have been vacant for at least a year, was most recently home to Mobile Fix, before which it was tReds, a footwear shop.

Bistro 61 will be contributing to the city’s rich coffee shop scene when it opens, alongside the nearby Costa Coffee, Coffee #1, My Coffee Corner, Maxwells café and Eden House of coffee in High Street as well as the Moka Bar and No.10 which are all within about a minutes’ walk.