ITALIAN eatery chain Carluccio's is not ruling out a branch at Gloucester Quays.
This is despite the news linking it with opening a restaurant in the Regent Arcade in Cheltenham.
It comes as the latest waterside restaurant is set to open at the Quays leisure quarter by the end of next week.
Work to convert Pillar and Lucy House into a Coal Grill and Bar is nearing completion and its doors will soon be flung open to diners in the city.
Coal's imminent arrival comes hot on the heels of TGI Friday's, which did roaring business on its first day of trading last month.
Proposals for the hotspot's newest restaurant sailed through Gloucester City Council at the beginning of July and it is expected to create 30 new jobs.
Last summer Portivo Lounge and Ed's Easy Diner joined Nando's and Pizza Express at the leisure quarter.
Zizzi's, Chimichanga and the Real China followed hot on their heels.
Carluccio's said it hopes to create 50 new stores across the country and while hinting towards a spot in Gloucester Quays.
A spokesperson said: "Carluccio's is constantly looking for good sites across the country, so they are not ruling out this opportunity at some point in the future."
The chain is distinctive due to its addition of a food shop offering larder products, Italian meats and cheeses, gifts, confectionary and prepared meals to takeaway.
It is laying the groundwork for a possible move to the Regent Arcade after submitting a licensing application to sell alcohol from the unit in the arcade.
The restaurant would be the first in the arcade but while Cheltenham Borough Council has given them permission to do so, John Forward, centre director for the arcade, said that nothing is set in stone.
He said: "There are a few alternatives being put down for people to look at.
"We've got other parties who are interested in the site.
"Nothing has been confirmed yet. We are still in the discussion stage with a number of other interested parties."
Mark Owen, chairman of the Gloucester branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, pictured, said those people who feel they have to travel to Cheltenham for a meal out are becoming well catered for in Gloucester.
He said: "Obviously we would welcome any addition to the quays that would bring some quality to the dining experience.
"Gloucester has suffered for a long time with a lack of variety in restaurants but we are starting to see a real resurgence in the night-time economy
"We are now starting to see people who believe in Gloucester and it is definitely a city that is on the up."
