After remaining empty for two years a prominent city centre store is to return to use as a new bakery.

Cornish Bakery will open at the former home of O2 at 31 Castle Street, after the mobile phone company closed its store in 2021.

It comes after plans to alter its shopfront and move its entrance were approved by Norwich City Council and designer brand Dune London announced it would fill the empty former Jojo Maman Bebe store in the street.

The chain offers hot drinks accompanied with baked goods including traditional pasties, pizzetta and tortillas.

Norwich Evening News: An artist's impression of the new Cornish BakeryAn artist's impression of the new Cornish Bakery (Image: Norwich City Council)

Nationally the business has 54 stores - including bakeries in Southwold, Birmingham and Plymouth.

As part of work on the shopfront, Cornish Bakery will move its entrance from Castle Street to Arcade Street.

Norwich Evening News: Castle Street and Back of the Inns in Norwich are seeing a rejuvenation Castle Street and Back of the Inns in Norwich are seeing a rejuvenation (Image: Newsquest)

The new Norwich bakery will face stiff competition for the lunchtime affections of city folk with a branch of Greggs, which opened in December last year, located just minutes away.

It comes amid significant rejuvenation in the street with Lucy and Yak and Yalm opening opposite in the last 12 months.

Norwich Evening News: Castle Street in Norwich where the new store will openCastle Street in Norwich where the new store will open (Image: Newsquest)

The premises had been stripped out by its landlord at the start of the year in order to make it more attractive to new tenants with an asking price of £75,000 per year.

Cornish Bakery now has three years to carry out work on the premises as a condition of its planning permission.

It is not yet known when the new store will open.