Excitement at Italian-style cafe set to open in former bank in Sheffield city centre

By David Walsh
Published 14th Mar 2023, 18:14 BST
Updated 14th Mar 2023, 18:14 BST
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A prominent former Sheffield city centre bank which closed 16 years ago is set to reopen as a coffee shop.

The building on the corner of The Moor and Fitzwilliam Gate is set to be turned into a traditional Italian-style cafe called La Spezia and open in summer, according to businessman Aso Kanabe. The upper floors could become up to 10 flats, he added.

Mr Kanabe said the bank closed in 2007 and he bought it auction a year ago.

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He added: “I feel confident and positive. Coffee shops are a good business. It also depends on the council, if they do something with the Moorfoot building.”

The former bank on the corner of The Moor and Fitzwilliam Gate is set to become a cafe and flats.The former bank on the corner of The Moor and Fitzwilliam Gate is set to become a cafe and flats.
The former bank on the corner of The Moor and Fitzwilliam Gate is set to become a cafe and flats.

Sheffield City Council plans to convert its giant Moorfoot office into flats as part of a drive for 20,000 more residents in the city centre.

Mr Kanabe, who is Kurdish, said he started out as a waiter at Papa Ciccio’s Italian restaurant in Crosspool before buying into it when the owner left.