Italian wine bar in city centre not re-opening despite signs

The Veeno unit, Castle Mall, which will not be reopening. Pic: Archant.

Veeno closed less than four months after opening in Castle Mall but since its demise at the end of January, signs on the unit state: 'Veeno is closed temporarily. We will be reopening again soon.'

But a spokeswoman for the cafe, which specialises in after work drinking with appetisers, confirmed the closure was not temporary: 'It definitely won't be reopening. We do look at all options which is why the signs are first put up.'

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The Norwich Veeno was one of the handful of franchises run by the company nationwide and the spokeswoman added they were 'not in touch' any more with the person who had taken the franchise over.

The sign may say Veeno will be reopening but apparently this is not the case. Pic: Archant.

It comes as Castle Mall has announced various new units opening including Delightful Desserts offering ice creams, crepes, cookie doughs and milkshakes and Moya Bubble Tea selling the Asian delicacy and Japanese bakery goods.

A spokeswoman for Castle Mall said: 'Two new additions to the centre, Delightful Desserts and Moya Bubble Tea, are both opening in April. Together with the imminent arrival of Superbowl UK and PureGym this summer, Castle Mall continues to add to its offer to meet changing consumer demands and stay relevant to the people of Norwich.'

The empty Veeno unit, however, still displays the cafe infrastructure with its bar and tasting room inside with more signage stating the closure is only temporary.

Veeno has 12 outlets around the UK although it is said to be in talks with landlords about other sites after both Norwich and Harrogate cafes were closed.

Veeno launched in 2013 in Manchester after raising around £200,000 of crowd funding and sources wine from Sicily.