Work is continuing to transform a historic Ipswich building into a large food hall as construction reaches the halfway point.
The Ipswich Star and East Anglian Daily Times were given an exclusive tour round Trafalgar House, the former Yates building in Tower Street in the centre of Ipswich, as it continues its transform into the Tower Street Food Hall.
In September, it was revealed that a food hall serving a range of foods from around the world would open, with Mr Sandeep Singh, the man behind the vision, stating that the entire refurbishment will cost around £2million.
Currently, the work is continuing across three levels of the building, with the ground floor being converted into the main food hall, with extraction fans, flooring and separate booths all have been installed already.
Each of the booths will serve something different, with there set to be a coffee and dessert stand, pizza, burgers, Chinese, Mexican and Japanese cuisine, as well as a small bar.
The first floor sections have been removed, while the bar, which was in the former Yates pub, will remain where it is to allow for the larger bar to serve.
On the second floor, barriers have come down and work is being done to get the space ready to be converted into a banquet hall for parties, wedding celebrations, meetings and events. The space will also be hireable.
All of this is being done while also making sure that the history of the building is preserved and honoured.
Aaron Blackwell, managing director of LABC Group Ltd, the team behind the conversion inside the building, said: "It's been a lot of work so far. We have people working seven days a week.
"We are at the halfway point, we are trying our hardest to get it open as soon as possible."
Through the work, which has been ongoing for around a month and a half, "at least" 15 skips have been filled, with the actual number likely being closer to 20, and more are needed for the construction.
In September, Mr Singh said that he thinks this will "change the landscape of the town centre."
He said: "With this sort of thing, the amount of money that we are putting in to it, we don't want anything to go wrong with it.
"It's a beautiful building, it ticked all the right boxes for us.
"A food hall is a destination.
"You go there for the experience and for the good food. We will be serving quality food and good drinks and it won't break the bank.
"It's been two years in doing this, I started looking at places for this sort of thing and I think with Ipswich, there are a lot of things that work for the town and I think there is absolutely a market for something like this."
Following the news of the food hall, Ipswich leaders expressed their excitement with the plans.
The Tower Street Food Hall will create 75 jobs when open, with additional jobs being created for those working on the site and suppliers.
In October, plans were submitted to change the front doors of the building into glass doors and install new shutters and the building will be accessible for wheelchair users.
The work is still expected to be completed in December, with an opening before Christmas still the being plan.
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