Gong Cha plan to open in former Montezuma's shop in Norwich

Gong Cha is hoping to open soon in a grade II listed building in Gentleman's Walk.

Chocolate shop Montezuma's closed at the site in July 2023 and the store has remained empty ever since.

The plans for the new bubble tea shop include a long counter which looks out onto White Lion Street (Image: Emily Goodwin) 

Now, in a planning application submitted to Norwich City Council, the bubble tea business plans to add a small extraction fan grille "for exhaust of air from within the shop" into the wall facing White Lion Street.

There are also plans to make small holes in the existing ground floor to allow for a water supply and drainage pipework to run from the ground floor to the cellar.

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The company is hoping to capitalise on the large windows on the White Lion Street side of the shop, building a long counter which looks out onto the road, with self-serve kiosks dotted around the shop floor.

30 Gentleman's Walk was a Lush until 2018, when the business moved into Chantry Place (Image: Google)

The Gentleman's Walk building was the cosmetics store Lush for many years before the company decided to move its Norwich branch into Chantry Place in 2018.

According to the plans, the building is understood to be a former pub called The White Lion and is a grade II* listed building within a conservation area.

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The building dates back to the 1700s and the application shows that the new tenants intend to keep the building work to "a bare minimum, out of respect for the historic nature of the building".

The bubble tea shop will join Moya, just up the road in Brigg Street, and Lightea, which is due to open in White Lion Street later this month.

Those wishing to comment on the plans have until April 1.