New life for Ipswich town centre shop

Businessman Hasan Orman outside Huffers Restaurant in Sudbury. Mr Orman is now planning a new restaurant venture, in Upper Brook Street, Ipswich (Image: Archant)

The former Browne’s menswear shop in Upper Brook Street, Ipswich has been sold.

The long established menswear shop and more recently also a gown business The Dress Room on the first floor, was on the market for the first time in nearly 90 years, having closed in 2016.

Richard Bertram of commercial agents Beane Wass and Box said: “This is one of the oldest independent shops in the town centre,

“Browne’s had been trading 80 years.

“Now I understand the new owner intends to turn it into a restaurant. It now has A3 planning permission.

“Despite a relatively small frontage, the ground floor has considerable depth and offers 1,500sq ft of space with a further 1,400sq ft of sales space on the firs floor, over which there is an attic.”

The shop building was sold off an asking price of £330,000.

The new owner is Sudbury-based businessman Mr Hasan Orman, who said: “Our plan is to turn the shop into a traditional British fish and chip restaurant, “We are talking to builders. I don’t how long it will take but we hope to be open in five to six months. We are spending quite a bit of money on it.

“We are planning to call it Ocean Fish and Chip Restaurant. There will be a traditional restaurant, for eating in, and takeaway too.”

Mr Orman, originally from Turkey, has been living in the Ipswich area for around 27 years.

“My wife is English and we have five children,” he said.

He has been running his Huffers Cafe Restaurant, in the centre of Sudbury, for the past five to six years, he added.

“It is a traditional cafe restaurant and coffee shop.”

The new fish restaurant was an expansion of his business, he added.

Mr Orman previously also owned Huffers cafe in Hadleigh, Suffolk and sold that a few years ago, to concentrate on his Sudbury restaurant and now his plans for his Ipswich restaurant.