More servings as Pizza Express opens at Southwater

Visitors to the new development have been inundated with new restaurant choices, as the first began to open their doors to customers.

Pizza Express officially opened yesterday, hot on the heels of Harvester Salad and Grill and Bella Italia.

Peter Jones, assistant manager, said the restaurant has created about 40 jobs.

"We are delighted to have opened and it's gone really well so far," he said.

"We have had a lot of people in and we are probably a bit busier than we expected. But the feedback we have had so far has been really positive.

"It is an exciting thing for the area and it is just what it needed."

Harvester Salad and Grill was the second restaurant to open its doors inside the multi-million pound Southwater development on Tuesday.

Restaurant manager Jonathon Evans, said: "We're delighted to have opened our new Harvester Salad & Grill at the Southwater development in Telford.

"We were totally full for two hours over lunchtime - it has been really busy.

"We're all really excited to be open and we've had a brilliant response.

"I think we've done a lot of preparation as well because our Facebook page has already got 1,650 likes and I think things like that have helped to bring people in.

"The staff are so excited to see us open that this is a really great place to work."

Bella Italia Italian restaurant welcomed its first guests on Monday.

The restaurant marks a £750,000 investment by the company and has created 30 new jobs.

The Italian restaurant will be celebrating its official opening with a party on Saturday.

Andy Lemon, the general manager of the new restaurant, said people appear to be delighted with the way Southwater has transformed Telford town centre, making it an attractive destination for shoppers from across Shropshire and into the Black Country.

He said: "We've already received fantastic feedback so far and we expect to go from strength-to-strength as people in the local area come to check us out."

The three restaurants join the already open Mimosa restaurant, which opened close to the Ice Rink earlier this year.

Also open in the development is a 11-screen IMAX Cineworld cinema and Starbucks, the Premier Inn, estate agent Butters John Bee and the gold-clad Southwater One building, which opened its doors to the public on July 14.

Meanwhile, on Saturday the Zizzi Italian restaurant will greet its first guests.