Hamburger restaurant chain Byron is eyeing a vacant former cinema in Birmingham city centre for its first venue in the West Midlands.
The group, whose portfolio of restaurants is mainly in London where it headquartered, has lodged new plans to open a 206-seat venue at the old Regent and ABC cinema on the corner of New Street and Ethel Street.
The Grade II-listed building, which more recently housed a Cashino amusement arcade until January 2013, was set redevelopment plans last summer.
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The Italian chain, which just a few weeks has since withdrawn its application, leaving property agents with the task of finding a new occupier.
Byron only has two restaurants in the Midlands - in Derby and Leicester - so the Birmingham opening represents a significant move to spread its footprint further in the region.
It would be open from 11am to midnight, have seating for 182 people inside with a further 24 outside and create around 50 full- and part-time jobs.
Newly submitted planning documents suggest Byron has been eyeing the site for around 12 months.
Byron was founded by Tom Byng. After spending four years in the US, he used his experience of burger restaurants there to launch a first venue in London in 2007 to fill what he saw as a hole in the market in the capital.
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It now boasts more than 50 venues across England and Scotland.
Birmingham is already well served with burger restaurants, including chains Handmade Burger Co, Five Guys and Gourmet Burger Kitchen alongside independents such as Original Patty Men in Digbeth.
The building would benefit from a high footfall due to its proximity to New Street station and the Colmore business district but would pit itself into competition with many other venues in what has become
Officially called 92-93 New Street, it was featured in the Birmingham Post last year as part of our 'Hidden Spaces' series which looks behind the doors of the city's most historic and fascinating buildings -
The four-storey site was originally built as a masonic hall in 1869 and converted into the Theatre de Luxe in 1908.
It changed its name in 1922 to the Regent and underwent a major renovation which brought its capacity up to 1,200 seats.
In 1961, another name change saw it become the ABC New Street until its closure in 1983 - a year after it was awarded Grade II listed status.
The foyer was later converted into an amusement arcade while the upper parts of the cinema were abandoned and forgotten.