An independent restaurant has opened its new venue in Birmingham.
Vietnamese Street Kitchen's site in Bullring replaces its previous home in Brindleyplace which closed last autumn.
It is now open for takeout ahead of the next stage of lockdown restrictions easing on April 12 when outside dining will be allowed, with inside dining set to return on May 17.
The family-owned restaurant joins its other eatery at Resorts World in Solihull following a £350,000 investment by its owners.
After initially being set to open last November, operations manager Oliver Ngo had to wait a further five months to launch the two-floor venue.
It is housed in the unit previously occupied by Handmade Burger Co. and has an upstairs bar, heated outdoor terrace and space for more than 140 covers once restrictions come to an end in June.
The new venture has created around 30 jobs while retaining staff from the Brindleyplace venue.
Mr Ngo said: "We are beyond excited to finally open Vietnamese Street Kitchen at Bullring. It's been a worrying six months but we're delighted to finally be at this point.
"We've opened up the kitchen, built an outdoor terrace and turned the upstairs into a funky cocktail bar. This is our flagship location now - all of our dreams and hard work put into one space.
"It's been a real rollercoaster getting to this point. We had certain grants to help us but payment delays made life very difficult at times.
"Schemes such as Eat Out To Help out did help drive customers to our restaurants but then sudden lockdowns and restrictions really affected stock, cash flow and bookings.
"Some days I woke up feeling on top of the world and others I woke up wondering why I put myself through this but I know I'm following my dreams and I'm certain the restaurant is going to be a firm favourite for shoppers and visitors.
"It's been a stressful year, there's no denying that, but we've adapted to each rule change and I will always do everything I can to keep our staff in work and our customers accessing our food. I'm optimistic about the April and May openings."
