Shopping centre donates hundreds of unwanted items to local charity stores to make room for exciting new retailer

A shopping centre at the heart of the Bridlington community has donated hundreds of items left over in a vacant unit in preparation for welcoming an exciting new offer.

The Promenades Shopping Centre distributed unwanted shoes and clothes to Age UK and the British Heart Foundation, which had been stored in a vacant unit formerly belonging to Street Cred.

It can now be revealed that Jerome’s Café, a popular independent eatery among locals and visitors to the town, has taken over the lease of the former fashion retailer and is set to open in time for Mother’s Day.

Maria Kamper, Centre Manager at The Promenades Shopping Centre, said: “We are thrilled to announce the arrival of Jerome’s Café into the centre.

“It highlights the attractiveness of The Promenades that we can draw in established and unique names on the Bridlington high street that prove popular with locals and visitors to the town.

“I am confident traders and customers will very much look forward to welcoming Jerome’s Cafe as it will give people yet another reason to visit the centre.”

Jerome’s Café, owned by Michael Harrison, of Harrison Leisure, first opened as a coffee and ice-cream parlour on the Bridlington sea front in 1983 and was the first place to introduce Cappuccino to the Bridlington café scene at just 50p a cup.

The new branch will boast a fully-fledged dessert parlour, offering homemade ice-cream and desserts, which will be made on its Pavilion Bar premises and delivered fresh each day – sandwiches and salads will also be available.

The new venue will seat up to 80 people, which will also extend on to the mall, and will present several job opportunities from managerial positions to floor and counter staff.

The British Heart Foundation, one of the charities to benefit from the clothes and shoes from Street Cred, has a store within the Centre.

Matt Anthony, assistant manager at the British Heart Foundation Bridington shop, said he was delighted the centre had chosen the store as one of the charities to receive the goods to prepare for the arrival of Jerome’s.

He said: “We are extremely grateful to The Promenades for this generous donation. As the UK’s leading funder of life saving heart research donations like this are helping the BHF to raise urgently needed funds.

“Heart disease is the UK’s single biggest killer but through our research we can continue the fight against heart disease, so that nobody has to die prematurely from this devastating disease. Having a clear-out and donating your unwanted items to BHF shops really does help to save lives – it’s as simple as that.”

The new arrival of Jerome’s comes as Lavitta, a retailer focused on female fashion, announces its store closure towards the end of February as part of a nationwide restructure, which will see a number of closures across the UK.