Pizza Express moves in for a slice of the action in Witney (From The Oxford Times)

Pizza Express moves in for a slice of the action in Witney

2:00pm Thursday 1st November 2012 in News By Tom Jennings, covering Witney and West Oxfordshire. Call me on 01865 425403

PIZZA Express has announced it will open a restaurant in Witney but not at the Marriotts Walk shopping centre.

The company had hoped to open a restaurant in the centre, off Welch Way, but could not agree on a planned extension of a unit with new landlords.

Now the pizza chain plans to open a restaurant in Market Square, replacing Ask.

Both Ask and Pizza Express are owned by the Gondola Group.

Pizza Express property director Mark Jones said: “We have been looking at ways to bring Pizza Express to Witney for some time so are delighted to be joining the town.”

Lesley Semaine, chairman of Witney Chamber of Commerce, said: “I would imagine it will go down very well with the younger generation, because they are pizza mad. I think it will be more popular than Ask. It’s very good news for the town.”

Pizza Express had hoped to open a restaurant at Marriotts Walk, in a unit formerly earmarked for a Starbucks coffee shop. But after RREEF Witney took over the centre from Kandahar Witney in February, the new landlord was unable to accommodate their requirements.