AN ITALIAN restaurant in the Wee County has been given permission to create an extra kitchen and collection point to keep up with rising demand for takeaway food.

Bar Aldo’s on Alloa’s Coalgate had applied to Clackmannanshire Council to create the additional space so it could continue serving carryout meals without disrupting restaurant customers.

The eatery, run by Aldo Pia and his family, enjoyed a surge in demand for takeaway food during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic when restrictions forced it to close.

The Pias say they have been inundated with requests to continue an expanded to-go service as restrictions lift – and that a dedicated kitchen for takeaway orders, together with a collection point separate from the main seating area, will create jobs, support the local economy, and make the experience more pleasurable for sit-in diners.

“The proposal to extend the restaurant to create a new take away kitchen will allow the applicant to operate his very popular family restaurant and to meet the demand for their take away service without any detrimental effect on the dining experience,” a statement included with the application read.

Council environmental health and roads officers expressed some concern over patrons collecting food from an area used by the former Lidl store adjacent for deliveries.

The restaurant resolved these by agreeing to instruct customers to use the Greenside Street public car park when collecting orders through both their takeaway menus/app and signage at the restaurant itself.

With these fears allayed, Wee County planners have given the plans the green light, noting that they comply with the local development plan.

“The development would enable investment in and expansion of an established local business located within the town centre,” the council noted in its report on the application.

“This would help sustain and create employment opportunities and have a positive effect on the vitality and viability of the town centre.”

A number of conditions are attached to the approval, including that the restaurant must provide extra details to the council on the takeaway area’s design and that of the ventilation system to be used in the kitchen.