A new Travelodge in Bury St Edmunds opened its doors to customers on Thursday with a ‘drive-thru’ Starbucks to start serving coffee from Friday.

East Anglian Daily Times: Left to right: John Marshall, Sue Warren, Bury St Edmunds and Beyond, Ben Bodewes and Archie Mijares, from Starbucks, Mike Spenser-Morris, developer, Terry Clements, mayor, councillor Julia Wakelam and Glennys and Hugh Baskett. Picture: MICHAEL STEWARDLeft to right: John Marshall, Sue Warren, Bury St Edmunds and Beyond, Ben Bodewes and Archie Mijares, from Starbucks, Mike Spenser-Morris, developer, Terry Clements, mayor, councillor Julia Wakelam and Glennys and Hugh Baskett. Picture: MICHAEL STEWARD (Image: Archant)

Construction on the new 80-room hotel and coffee shop development, which is located on Etna Road, near the Tesco roundabout in the town, has taken around a year to complete.

The hotel is Bury’s first Travelodge to operate in the town, and a spokeswoman for the company said an official opening may take place in a few weeks.

The manager at the hotel, Graham Atkins, said he had been “overwhelmed” by the high calibre of candidates for positions after more than 500 people applied for 24 new jobs.

MORE: New Travelodge and Starbucks development in Bury St Edmunds will boost tourism and economy The ‘drive-thru’ Starbucks at the site will open at 6am tomorrow, with an official opening ceremony taking place at 11am.

When construction got underway at the site in February last year, business leaders said the development would give the town’s economy a major boost.

MORE: More than 500 people apply for jobs at new Suffolk hotel