NEW jobs are being created as a new restaurant opens to people in Ludlow and south Shropshire, offering punters another choice for a night out.

The Ludlow Food Centre is doubling the size of its cafe space to create a restaurant that will be serving evening meals as well as food during the day.

The business, in Bromfield, is turning the former Conservatory Barn Cafe into the Ludlow Kitchen eatery.

It will be the first time the business has opened in the evenings serving a variety of classic, locally inspired food.

Seating is more than doubling from 60 to 140, and will create a number of new positions.

The Food Centre is already one the largest employers in the south of the county, employing 81 local people and Ludlow Kitchen will increase this to at least 86 in the coming months.

Having recently taken on a new head chef, Damien McNamara from Ludlow, Ludlow Kitchen will need a new sous chef, barista, assistant manager and part time waiting staff.

“The new layout will include soft seating, a log burning stove, a sharing table and a garden room,”

said restaurant manager Ben Crouch.

“We are really excited by the new offering but it is essential that we find the best local talent to help make it a success.”

Ludlow Kitchen is marketing itself on the provenance of its ing redients and a unique dining experience which includes a large open kitchen.

Almost all the food used to create the new menu will come from the Ludlow Food Centre’s artisan producers.

The coffee will be roasted fresh on site in the Centre’s coffee roasting room and g round to order by the Ludlow Kitchen’s new barista.

All the meat will be from the Centre’s Oakly Park Estate, which surrounds the area north of Ludlow.

“The Food Centre is the ultimate larder to select our produce from,” added Ben Crouch.

Ludlow Kitchen is scheduled to open in March.