Jazit Ltd, which owns 51–53 King Street, has submitted a planning application to convert the bottom three floors – the basement and the ground and first floors – into a restaurant and bar area. The second and third floor would remain as flats.
The building was previously occupied by Beghins shoe shop until it closed in February 2019 after being unable to agree a lease deal.
According to a design statement submitted by architects Axis Mason, it is hoped the brasserie will create 35 jobs in the hospitality industry.
‘The intended operation is to create a Parisian-style restaurant with a bar area for pre-dinner drinks,’ the architects say.
‘The restaurant will be informal but will provide a high-quality experience at accessible prices. High levels of passing trade will mean the operation will be open for breakfast, morning coffee, lunch and afternoon service, as well as dinner. Our client’s goal is for the
restaurant to appeal to both locals and visitors in the town centre.’
The plans include the option of al fresco seating in King Street and Broad Street.
While planning policy does not ordinarily permit the loss of ground-floor retail space, the architects said the restaurant was the ‘perfect way’ to enhance the surrounding retail offerings.
The design statement continued: ‘As more and more shops move online, there simply won’t be the demand to enable the current volume of retail units in central St Helier to be sustainable.
‘It’s only by offering a mix of retail with other leisure activities that consumers will be tempted into the town centre.’
Subject to confirmation, the proposed opening hours for the restaurant would be from 10am to 11pm from Monday to Saturday and 10am until 4pm on Sundays.
The restaurant plans to use locally sourced produce and intends to join associations such as Genuine Jersey, the Chamber of Commerce and the Jersey Hospitality Association.
