A NEW arcade-themed bar could soon be opening in a former city centre shop.
Plans to open new bar Carousel in the former Argos store in Worcester have been put forward by Lindum Leisure.
The application for the new Victorian-themed Carousel bar, designed to mimic a merry-go-round, includes a bar, restaurant and arcade filled with retro and modern games and a rooftop bar.
The two-floor plans include space for food and cocktails as well as classic arcade games such as air hockey, pinball machines, a basketball hoop, driving simulators and dance machines and interactive darts, beer pong, shuffleboard and quickdraw shooting.
The former Argos store closed in 2021 and has been empty since.
The Shambles, one of the city’s main shopping streets, was spruced up in 2019 at a cost of more than a million pounds with the thoroughfare’s bumpy and crumbling surface, which was a patchwork of makeshift repairs, replaced alongside new lights and benches.
But with the work drawing to completion by the end of the year, just in time for the crucial run-up to Christmas, the spread of Covid-19 across the world was beginning to gather pace and two years of national lockdowns and a long list of restrictions for traders followed with many businesses still struggling to recover and many others not re-opening at all.
The are still several empty units in The Shambles including the former Argos store as well as buildings left empty by the departure of Greggs, Poundland and Vodafone in recent years.
Hallowood Furniture was the latest business to go, shutting the doors at its Shambles store in July.
However, there have been, and will continue to be, some new additions to the city centre street with board game café The Dice Box opening soon in the former Fast Cash store.
Record shop and café Spin The Black Circle opened in the former EE phone shop on the corner of Pump Street and The Shambles in September.
The plans for Carousel can be viewed by visiting the planning section of Worcester City Council’s website.
The application number is 22/01030/FUL and consultation ends on December 30.
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