Plans are in to turn a well-known York restaurant into a church.
The Hope Centre wants to take over Luigi’s Ristorante in Upper Poppleton.
Under its proposals, the bar and stud wall will be removed from the Italian restaurant to allow for congregational worship.
It includes a seating plan for 84 people. “The average in-person Sunday attendance at the church’s temporary home in Acomb Parish Hall in 2021 was 63, and the maximum was 83,” planning documents state.
Half of the kitchen of the restaurant, found next to Dobbie’s Garden Centre on Northfield Lane, would be retained under the plans. The other half would be converted into a prayer and meeting room.
There will also be a creche on the ground floor, and a Sunday School room and office on the first floor.
According to the planning documents, the building is still in use. YorkMix has asked Luigi’s for their plans, and will update if they come back to us.
The restaurant has scored 4 out of 5 from 368 reviews on TripAdvisor and opens every day till 10pm, with a menu of pizza, pasta and other Italian dishes.
You can read the full planning application here.
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