New The Ridge restaurant opens at Greenbridge Retail Park

Scott Jacobs welcomed customers into The Ridge East on Monday afternoon after hosting preview events over the weekend.

The former home of Frankie and Benny's has been given a spruce-up with new signs and decorations around the outside of the building.

It serves up a range of burgers, steaks, hot dogs, ribs, chicken, fries, nachos, salads, cocktails, and milkshakes along with a vegan menu.

Scott said: "It's exciting, there's a lot of buzz. The Ridge has grown massively and it seems to be really popular, so it's nice to be able to bring it to this side of Swindon.

"The renovation went quite smoothly, all done in three weeks, mostly cosmetic work with a few changes to the bar area.

"We should hopefully have a really good future here."

Bar manager James Lawniczak transferred over from The Ridge West along with a few other colleagues and newly-hired staff as well as some who were retained from Frankie and Benny's.

He said: "It's going great, the preview evenings went well and we had a lot of good feedback.

"Mother's Day is fully booked, so that will be a busy one, and this is in a really good spot."

The Ridge East in Greenbridge Retail Park (Image: Newsquest)

Scott and his brother Luke opened the original Ridge at Shaw Ridge Leisure Park in 2017 before going on to set up Fiesta de Cuba in Greenbridge in 2021.

When Frankie and Benny's announced plans to close its Swindon branch last autumn, the twins saw an opportunity for expansion.

After applying for a licensing application in late January, they set to work on getting the old Italian-American eatery ready to become the second branch of their bar and grill.

The approved application allows the venue to play recorded music and host live music and dance performances as well as anything of a similar description from 9.30am to midnight Monday to Sunday.

A member of the public told the Adver: "It was a real shame when Chiquito closed, and Empire shut, and then Frankie and Benny's went.

"But now there's Fiesta de Cuba and this place, and the cinema seems to be really busy again, which is good to see and it's good for Swindon.

"I've booked a meal for later in the week - I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like."