Plans to replace a restaurant marquee outside a Suffolk cinema with a more permanent structure will be resubmitted after tenants withdrew from running the restaurant.

Earlier this week, the EADT revealed that A-Listers, which also runs Aurora at Ipswich Waterfront, would no longer be operating at Riverside Theatre in Woodbridge.

Stuart Saunders, who owns the cinema, said new plans would be submitted to East Suffolk Council for a smaller conservatory-style restaurant to replace the marquee, which was originally erected as a temporary structure in 2020 during the Covid pandemic.

READ MORE: Marquee at Woodbridge's Riverside Theatre set to be replaced

He said the original application, which was approved, had been designed to accommodate the needs of A-Listers, which was running the restaurant at the time, but he was now planning to operate on a smaller footprint.

The new permanent structure - which will replace the marquee - is an extension to the existing restaurant at the cinema, which can accommodate 60 covers and will provide for an extra 16 diners, bringing the total to 76.

The original plans for the permanent restaurant had been submitted because of concerns that the council would return to pre-Covid rules and the temporary marquee would no longer be permitted.

READ MORE: A-Listers in Woodbridge closes with immediate effect

East Anglian Daily Times: Stuart Saunders, owner of the Riverside Theatre in Woodbridge, said the emphasis would be on 'quality not quantity' with the new restaurantStuart Saunders, owner of the Riverside Theatre in Woodbridge, said the emphasis would be on 'quality not quantity' with the new restaurant (Image: Gregg Brown)Temporary marquees were allowed by the council during the pandemic, but had been forbidden prior to the Covid outbreak.

Mr Saunders said he would be bringing in top London chefs to help with the running of the restaurant's kitchen, with the premises being open from noon to 3pm and then 5pm to 9pm everyday except Sunday, when the opening hours will be 11am to 4pm.

READ MORE: Woodbridge news

He will be retaining all but one of the 13 staff that had worked while the restaurant was run by A-Listers.

"We will be in the business of quality not quantity. We will be building the restaurant slowly and it will be getting better as the weeks go by. We will be using flour from the Tide Mill. I think the town's ready for it," Mr Saunders added.

He believed the smaller footprint for the restaurant would also prove popular among residents, who did not support the original, larger plans.