A POPULAR fast food chain has revealed plans to open its first restaurant in Southend in what has been hailed as good news for the city.

Taco Bell is aiming to convert the former Moss Bros store at 84 High Street into a restaurant and takeaway.

The Mexican-inspired fast-food giant has submitted a change of use planning application to Southend Council.

“Taco Bell and Wagamama, two global brands, potentially coming to Southend is huge for the city and incentivises people to visit the High Street when they otherwise may not have,” Ashley Oglina-Beecham, manager at Southend Business Improvement District (BID), said.

Japanese-inspired chain Wagamama applied for a premise license for a new restaurant in the former Bella Italia in London Road earlier this year.

The city is witnessing a gastronomic revolution, with plush pan-Pacific fine dining offering Zinnia set to open along the seafront this summer, and Mr Mr Oglina Beecham believes the influx of new restaurants may provide a solution to the city’s problem with vacant units on the High Street.

“Empty units in town centres are a national problem we have been battling for 20 years with the rise of internet shopping, and only made worse by the pandemic,” Mr Oglina Beecham continued.

“It’s a tough thing to address, especially with historically successful brands, giants of industry, such as Topshop and Debenhams going bust.

“There is always going to be a battle with online shopping, and perhaps the future does lie in leisure and food, rather than retail.”.

If approved by Southend Council, the new Taco Bell restaurant would be based entirely on the ground floor, with flats on the floor above unaffected by the scheme.

Plans for the site show 25 tables would be installed in the restaurant, which will serve dishes such as tacos, nachos and burritos.

Councillor Martin Terry said: “It is really exciting that these major brands are coming to Southend, and from what I am hearing on the grapevine, there will be more of this to come.”

Taco Bell currently has sites in Basildon, Lakeside, Chelmsford and Colchester.

There are currently fewer than 100 Taco Bell currently operating in the UK but more than 7,000 open in the US.