A new tenant is being sought for the Inverness city centre building that’s been home to the Filling Station for the last 18 years.
It was announced last month that the American-style diner was calling time on its venture in the Highland capital.
And now a prospective new business is being given the chance to take over.
Upmarket estate agent Savills is marketing the building at 8-10 Academy Street for rent at £6,250 a month.
Closure is latest blow for city centre
The 1,900 sq ft space is described as a ready-to-go “fitted restaurant unit”.
It makes sense for another food and drink business to try to plug the gap.
But the costly fee and challenging economic climate is likely to scare off most independent retailers.
The city centre has also been rocked by several closures in recent months, Clarks the shoe shop and the Los Burrito Mexican takeaway among them.
The property at 8-10 Academy Street is held on a 15-year lease which began in April 2022.
In addition to the main floorspace, there is also a 986 sq ft space in the basement.
What will happen to the Filling Station staff?
The Filling Station opened its doors to customers in 2005, the latest expansion for a nationwide firm serving drink and fast food.
Before that, it was the Deep Pan Pizza Company, a restaurant known for its “all you can eat” promo.
The firm is owned by the Restaurant Group, which runs more than 400 bars and restaurants across the UK.
Among its best-known brands are Frankie and Benny’s and Wagamama’s.
A spokesman for the Restaurant Group said a decision had been taken to leave the site after a widescale review.
He added: “We announced a review of our leisure estate in March and made the difficult decision to exit some of our sites.
“We are working closely with our impacted teams and will look to redeploy colleagues to neighbouring sites across our wider estate wherever possible.”
The spokesman declined to elaborate on how many staff are affected or where they will be redeployed to.
The restaurant is due to close for good on October 21.
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