PENARTHIANS have welcomed the prospect of the Italian restaurant chain Prezzo opening in the town centre.

Prezzo PLC has applied for a premises licence to sell alcohol and late night refreshment in the former Spar shop on Windsor Road.

The restaurant would be open from 10am until midnight from Monday to Saturday, 10am until 11.30pm on Sunday’s, and 10am until 2.30am on New Year’s Eve.

The restaurant chain already has two outlets in Cardiff, one on St Mary Street and another on St David’s Arcade 2, and more than 200 restaurants across the UK.

The restaurant would join the likes of Bar 44, Ocho Lounge, Jaflon, Costa Coffee and Coffee #1 in the town centre.

One Penarth resident, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s a nice alternative and something to do on a Saturday night.

“I don’t know what else they would put there, apart from another charity shop.”

She added: “It’s more of a chain though so it might not fit into the town, as there are a lot of quaint shops and restaurants.”

Nick Carpanini, from Penarth, said: “A sign of a town centre not doing well is a lot of charity shops, so it would be a good sign of regeneration if Prezzo were to open there.

“I think it would be a good step forward if Prezzo came and would be a step in the right direction.”

His wife Olivia added: “Prezzo would be fab for children.

“It would be nice to have something that wasn’t a charity shop, as there are a lot of them in the town.”

Suzanne Pitt, who works at M&Co next door to the former Spar store, said: “I don’t go into Cardiff very often, so it would be good to have something local.

“It’s nice to go to Penarth in the evenings as it’s always busy.”

Ruber Moreara, who works at Bar 44 on Windsor Road, said it would add more variety to the town centre.

“It’s totally different to us as we do Spanish food and they do Italian,” he said.