Pho, a 100-cover Vietnamese restaurant, is finalising an extensive fit out and is set to open soon in Hockley (on 31 January).
Creating 30 new jobs, the 4,000 sq ft restaurant has undergone a back to brick restoration. The Pho team has transformed the ground floor of the former National Video Game Arcade building in Hockley into a vibrant, Vietnam-inspired space to meet, eat and sample a range of soups, sides and specials.
Pho founder, Stephen Wall, says: “I know the city well and we’ve been working with Box Property to try and find the right site for years. We saw this site a few years ago and were keen, so to finally get the opportunity to open here feels like fate and a long time in the making.
“We absolutely love the site and pitch. We’ve built it from scratch, with the walls, columns and other existing features at the centre of the design. It’s a wonderful building to open a restaurant in as the space almost designs itself.”
It is the latest opening for the family run business which was established in 2005 and now has more than 30 locations nationwide from Covent Garden to Edinburgh. It was let to Pho by Box Property following a four-year search to find the ideal location.
Ben Tebbutt, co-founder and director of Box Property, adds: “We’ve worked closely with the Pho team to find a suitable site in Nottingham for several years. They started their search in Hockley initially, then came close to taking a lease in the King Street/Queen Street area but that didn’t feel quite right.
“We’ve championed Hockley for a long time and it was always the preferred option. Owner Stephen Wall felt that Hockley was the only location for them.
“It was a complicated deal to put together, with lots of landlords works and a listed building in the mix, but what the team has done to transform it is fantastic. It’s another asset to Hockley and we can’t wait to get stuck into a steaming bowl of soup.”
