Darlington café owner to open Mafea in former Pizza Hut
Viacheslav Pedchenko, who runs The Wynd Café & Bistro on Post House Wynd, is preparing to launch Mafea on Horsemarket next month.
The 44-year-old wants to bring pizza, pasta, steaks, and other grill items to the space, which has remained empty since Pizza Hut closed its doors in December 2021.
Viacheslav, also known as Slav, told The Northern Echo: “It’s going to be a family Italian restaurant with pizza, pasta, and grill food, and we’re hopefully going to have some outdoor space with seats outside.
“It’s going to bring something new to the town. We just like Darlington and want to expand from what I already have – The Wynd Café and Bistro – which is going well.”
The Chilton man first got the keys to the Grade-II listed building around one month ago, with plans to open in the middle of or late March.
Slav, who is originally from Ukraine and has been living in the North East for the last three years, continued: “We’re carrying out a renovation at the moment.
“The restaurant has been empty a while so we’re just going to be putting in new windows, reupholstering the seating, and building our own brick pizza oven!
“We’re going to have an alcohol license, and it’s going to be open between 10am and 1am, but it may not be that late some days. We are excited!”
The windows of the unit are currently covered over while works remain ongoing, with a premises licence application poster on the window.
The venue wishes to sell alcohol from 10am until 1am everyday, with late-night refreshments from 11pm until 1am everyday.
Meanwhile, Slav’s Wynd Café & Bistro continues to go from strength to strength, and currently boasts a 5/5 score on Tripadvisor, with praise for its “inviting atmosphere,” “exceptional service,” and “delicious offerings.”
As previously reported, Pizza Hut became another casualty of the Covid pandemic when it closed in Darlington.
The popular chain – which still boasts a restaurant at Teesside Park – said it had been “saddened” by the closure, but that it was “beyond our control.”
At the time it suggested the closure was due to the impact of the Covid pandemic and confirmed that it had redeployed a number of staff to neighbouring sites.
There was hope the unit would be brought back into use in late 2022, when a planning application was submitted to Darlington Council for a new wine bar.
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Veeno, which has a number of sites across the UK, wanted to install new signage, a hanging sign and carry out light refurbishment work inside.
However, this never came to fruition.
Those who wish to comment on the application should do so before March 19.