A new Lounge cafe and bar has plans to open at The Lexicon in March, bosses have confirmed.

Rumours that a Lounge restaurant could come to The Lexicon first surfaced in November 2023. The Lexicon general manager Rob Morris confirmed at the time there had been talks with Loungers over a possible opening.

The rumours were fuelled when a planning application was submitted to Bracknell Forest Council last month to put up signs and adverts for a new bar and cafe called ‘Pineto Lounge’.

And the Lounges website advertised job vacancies for a new opening at 8 Eagle Lane, in The Lexicon, although the planning application is for 6 Eagle Lane.

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Now Mr Morris has confirmed that the restaurant chain Loungers will open a branch in The Lexicon. He added that it aims to open in March, although the planning application for the sign and adverts was still pending at the time of writing on Monday, February 5.

Mr Morris said: “We can confirm that Loungers will be opening a new restaurant in The Lexicon. It is anticipated that it will open its doors in March 2024.”

Mr Morris did not answer questions about which address in The Lexicon the Lounge cafe would open at. But if it opens at 8 Eagle Lane, as suggested by its website, it will replace the Prezzo restaurant that closed last year.

The Italian restaurant chain closed a third of its branches across the UK, citing increased utility costs and a drop in footfall. But Mr Morris said that restaurants in The Lexicon are ‘reporting good results,’ and that footfall in the shopping centre was up.

He said: “The fact that Prezzo closed almost a third of its restaurants, across the UK in 2023, one of them being in The Lexicon, is in no way a reflection on how restaurants are faring in the town centre.

“Footfall in The Lexicon was up 20 per cent in 2023, a terrific result, against a flat figure for the South East. Our restaurants are reporting good results and we don't see any reason why that will change in the future.”