New Glasgow city centre restaurant will not be a Ka Pao as operator says plans have 'evolved'

The firm behind Glasgow restaurant Ka Pao has now confirmed its new city centre venue will be a separate project.

Glasgow’s Licensing Board approved a provisional premises licence application from Sumac House Ltd for 68 Miller Street last Friday.

At the board meeting, the lawyer representing the firm said the bid to sell alcohol was for “a proposed Ka Pao restaurant”.

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He added the company, which also runs Ox & Finch, would be investing £3.5m in the Miller Street project, and is a “multi-award winning operator”.

A council source said they had understood the application had referred to a new Ka Pao restaurant. However, a spokesperson for the venue’s owners has confirmed a new project is coming instead, with plans currently being developed.

The Licensing Board was told the firm was applying to reinstate a previous licence which lapsed during the pandemic — and the spokesperson said when the previous application was submitted, the intention had been to deliver a new Ka Pao restaurant.

The proposal, which will create 60 jobs, has evolved since then. Board members were told it was hoped the premises would open in August, but this has yet to be confirmed.

The firm was granted permission to convert an empty B-listed building into a new venue in August last year. Planning permission for a change of use had initially been awarded pre-pandemic but had also expired.

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