Restaurant chain Hard Rock Café has submitted a planning permission request to Newcastle City Council. If permission is granted, the chain hopes to open a restaurant in the Guildhall, situated in Newcastle’s Quayside area.
The chain hopes to occupy the ground-floor of the Sandhill Building, with planning permission asking for the right to alter the ‘layout and style’ of the building. The building’s current interior dates from 1658.
The Guildhall is the proposed site for the development
Image: Mike Quinn on Geograph
Hard Rock Café is an internationally recognised brand, with venues in 74 countries. It owns restaurants, hotels, and casinos, and frequently organises music festivals.
The chain was started in 1971, when the first ever Hard Rock Café opened in London. Since then, the brand has become iconic, with its rock and roll-themed restaurants famed for displaying an array of music memorabilia. It is estimated that the chain owns the most expensive and expansive collection of music memorabilia in the world, which includes items once owned by The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, The Sex Pistols, and many other music icons.
Each Hard Rock restaurant is also home to a bar area, serving an expansive cocktail menu, as well as a ‘Rock Shop’, where its famous t-shirts and clothing range are sold.
However, Newcastle City Council has recently faced criticism for granting planning permission to several new developments on the Quayside, most recently including the ‘Whey Aye’, which will be Europe’s highest observatory wheel. Critics claim that the developments will place too much strain on the local area due to increased traffic and visitors.
Time will tell if Hard Rock Café’s proposed venture is met with the same criticism.
