Pizza restaurant plans approved and open for business

A new fast-food restaurant in Reepham has finally been granted planning permission, with the business having opened at the end of September.

Mehmet Bener (second from left) and staff at Reepham Pizza House, Unit 1, Sun House, Market Place, Reepham

 
Offering a range of burgers, pizzas, grilled chicken and lamb, chips, desserts and drinks, Reepham Pizza House is open six days a week, Thursday to Tuesday, from 3–11 pm at Unit 1, Sun House, Market Place, on Townsend Corner.
 
The business employs three people full time, as well as several part-time students from Reepham High School & College.
 
“Since we started on Friday 23 September we have been very busy. The first three nights saw queues out the door,” explained owner Mehmet Bener of Norwich.
 
He said there is nothing in Reepham that offers this sort of food, with the nearest fast-food outlet being 7-8 miles away.
 
“On the whole, everything has been positive and we have been overwhelmed by the good wishes of the people of Reepham. Everyone has said it is something the town has really needed.”
 
Reepham Pizza House prepares food daily and fresh on the premises. “We use good English ingredients and all the pizzas are made in-house from fresh dough,” said Mr Bener, who ran a similar shop in St Vedast Street, off Prince of Wales Road, in Norwich from 2003 until March this year, and also had a shop in Fakenham, which he ran for six years.
 
He explained that he was attracted by Reepham, which offered a quieter work environment compared with Norwich and the chance to operate shorter opening hours.
 
“Everything on the menu is selling well,” said Mr Bener, who took the lease on the unit nearly 18 months ago. The food offering is aimed mainly at families and younger customers, with Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday being the busiest evenings. Most customers are choosing to buy takeaway food.
 
The planning permission for a change of use from A1/A3 (shop and restaurant) to A3 (restaurant) is subject to several conditions, including the chimney of the ventilation system being constructed and painted to match the colourwash of the Sun House building.
 
Broadland District Council’s Planning Enforcement team said it is aware that the premises are being used for takeaway and expects a retrospective planning application to be submitted by the establishment.
 
Mr Bener said he was confident that any future conditions for operating a takeaway business would be met. He added that the pizza restaurant has complementary opening hours to V’s Café across the road, which incidentally allows customers to take food away.
 

  • Reepham Pizza House. Tel: 01603 872327. Cash only, no cards accepted.

 
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