RESTAURANT Mission Burrito have announced they will be opening a branch at Friars Walk.

The Mexican restaurant will be the first eatery to open on the upper level by the eight-screen Cineworld cinema and will join 12 other family restaurants at the £110 million shopping centre.

The chain is named after a type of burrito that first became popular during the 1960s in the Mission District of San Francisco, California.

Queensberry Real Estate yesterday announced Mission Burrito will be taking on a 660 sq ft store space at Usk plaza on a 15 year lease.

Its Newport opening follows branches in Cardiff, Bath, Birmingham, Bristol, Leicester, Oxford and Reading.

Chris Daly, senior leasing manager at Queensberry Real Estate, said: “We have worked hard to create a mix of restaurant operators that meets the demands of Newport’s existing customers, whilst attracting new visitors to the area.

"Key to this has been the creation of a complementary food offer, to improve the evening economy and support the wider leisure facilities on site at Cineworld and Superbowl and further afield in the city.

"Mission Burrito is a great concept and is well known for offering a fresh and quality product, we strongly believe it’s more casual grab-and-go offer will be a welcome addition to our already thriving catering line-up.

Friars Walk came about thanks to a public-private partnership that saw Newport City Council provide Queensberry Real Estate with access to a loan to fund the scheme.

It opened in November last year and has attracted retail names including H&M, Next and New Look and restaurants including Loungers, Nando’s and Wagamama.

The scheme has already created 1,200 jobs in the new shops and restaurants worth an estimated £15 million a year in salaries to the local economy.