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Planet Hollywood in the Trocadero Centre |
Hollywood ending at the Trocadero
Tinseltown restaurant set for short move to make way for £100m redevelopment scheme
A visit to Planet Hollywood in Piccadilly’s Trocadero Centre is a rite of passage for many young families.
But now the famous faces have been torn from the walls, the grills have gone cold and the last burger has been flipped as the restaurant closed for good at the weekend.
But if you’re still craving a Surf n’ Turf, do not despair. Tinseltown’s second most famous export has not been battered by the credit crunch.
The lease has expired ahead of the £100million redevelopment of the famous Trocadero site and Planet Hollywood bosses are licking their lips over a new £5m site in Haymarket.
The restaurant’s founder, Robert Earl, said: “I am greatly looking forward to the relocation in London.
“We have been looking for some time to find a new West End location.
“The new Planet Hollywood site has an incredible ground floor position and gives us the opportunity to showcase the brand as we move forward in 2009.
“The restaurant will become the flagship of the group and I plan to emulate the success we have achieved with our casino in Las Vegas in my home town of London. Expect another glamorous celebrity-filled opening night party next April as we put Planet Hollywood back on the London map.”
The move will raise fears over the future of the Trocadero which is said to be struggling to attract tenants. It has been rumoured that the chain wanted to stay although nobody at Planet Hollywood would confirm this.
When it opened in 1993, police had to set up a roadblock to contain the 10,000-strong crowd who turned out to catch a glimpse of some of the biggest stars of the day.
Among the guests were Mel Gibson, Michael J Fox, Christoper Reeve and Charlie Sheen.
Despite its name, Planet Hollywood was modelled on the success of the Hard Rock Café, opening to a huge fanfare in New York in 1991 with the backing of Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
It is relocating to a three-floor, 280-seater venue in the former Burberry headquarters.
Asif Aziz’s Criterion Capital firm are to transform the Trocadero site into a 471-bed hotel, that will also include shops and apartments. Planning chiefs paved the way for the redevelopment last year after initially deriding plans as “hideous”.
Mr Aziz bought the building, which also houses entertainment centre Funland arcade and the former Segaworld theme park for £220million from Burford in May 2005. |
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