The opening marks the latest step in the £100 million project, which will also include the BBC Cymru Wales HQ being relocated to the 150,000 sq ft building.
Staff at the new Pret chain welcomed their first customers on the morning of 5th October. The move means the city of Cardiff now boasts three separate Pret a Manger stores, with the others located on Queen Street and at the St. David's shopping centre. It will also provide competition for the Milk & Sugar café in nearby One Central Square.
The Pret a Manger store forms part of the new Central Square development, Central Square Two, which is intended to help to regenerate Cardiff's city centre. BBC Cymru Wales took possession of their new headquarters as part of the project back in April 2018, and BBC staff are likely to relocate to the new building by the end of 2019.
Aside from the new BBC Wales HQ, the new Central Square is also expected to include one million sq ft of office, residential and retail space. The Pret a Manger opening marks the first step in the retail part of that equation.
Cardiff University's School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies (JOMEC) relocated to Central Square Two earlier in the year, with new students enrolling in September. A new building for HMRC is also part of the project.
In the months ahead, a number of other retail companies are expected to open stores as part of the city centre development. In August, supermarket giant Tesco gained approval for its licensing application, while Boots and Greggs are among the other companies expected to open chains within the new building in the near future.
Pret a Manger is a sandwich shop chain, which was originally founded in London in 1983. In addition to sandwiches, its stores also sell coffee, wraps, salads, soups and a variety of other food and drinks products.
The company now has more than 300 locations across the United Kingdom, and more than 500 stores globally. The brand new chain in Cardiff's Central Square development is open from 6.30am until 7.30pm on weekdays. These hours change to 8.30am until 6pm on Saturdays, and 8.30am until 5pm on Sundays.
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