A RESTAURANT and takeaway could be built on the busy Gorgie Road in Edinburgh after a planning application was submitted to the City of Edinburgh Council.
Applicant Ahmed Ali already owns significant stakes in a Pepe’s Piri Piri location right next to the prospective new restaurant.
Few details have so far been released by the applicant, but the restaurant, which is currently unnamed, will be installed at a vacant premises at 544 Gorgie Road near Saughton Park and the Corn Exchange.
The site has been vacant since a William Hill betting office there closed in 2023.
The part-owner of the Pepe’s branch on Gorgie Road could become the owner of another restaurant just metres away (C) Google
Ali Ahmed previously ran Chicken Feast Ltd. from 40 Hallhill Road in Glasgow until he was terminated as director and the company moved to a new location at 536 Gorgie Road, where a Pepe’s Piri Piri franchise now operates.
Despite having his appointment as director terminated in 2018, Ahmed Ali was confirmed as a person of significant control in the company which owns the chicken shop in October 2021.
Companies House states that Ali owns more than 25% but not more than 50% of the shares in the company.
40 Hallhill Road, Glasgow is the same as Ali’s listed address on the planning application for the new Gorgie Road restaurant.
The restaurant’s floor layout would consist of a customer area with seating for 20 diners, an accessible toilet, counter serving space, a kitchen and a staff room – all of which will have to be installed from scratch.
The applicant also plans to install ventilation and an extraction fan to the roof of the premises.
The stretch of road where the restaurant could be built already has the aforementioned Pepe’s Piri Piri, but also a Mr. Shawarma, and a SoRice! Asian takeaway.
Neighbours were notified on 22 October and four public comments objecting to the plans have already been lodged on the Council website.
Despite his apparent part ownership of the Pepe’s branch right next door, the applicant appears determined to press ahead with expansion plans.
From 2009 to 2023, 544 Gorgie Road served as a bookies, but has sat vacant ever since (C) Orinsen
No name has yet been disclosed for the new restaurant, and no details have been released about what kind of food it may sell.
The planning application for the new restaurant says they are looking for: “Change of use from class 1A (non-residential) to class 3 (restaurant / takeaway) on the ground floor.
“External alterations to install ventilation and extraction flue, internal conversion of the property to form a restaurant.”
Ali Ahmed also ran a firm called Humza Ltd. From April 2016 to June 2019.
The nature of the business was “retail sale via mail order houses or via internet”.
Ali Ahmed has been approached for comment.
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