Burger chain Grill’d has lodged plans to open a new restaurant with a drive-through on Frederick Street in Launceston.
The company wants to convert a former church building at 49-55 Frederick Street into a 24-hour convenience restaurant with seating for around 132 people.
Planning documents lodged with Launceston City Council show Grill’d plans to partially demolish the western portion of the existing building and fit out a single-storey restaurant with a 363 square metre internal floor area and an 87 square metre alfresco dining space.
A dual-lane drive-through would wrap around the western side of the site, capable of holding up to nine vehicles in its queue.
The site sits on a prominent corner at the intersection of Frederick Street and Bathurst Street, on the edge of the Launceston CBD.
It is currently home to a commercial building used by Intuit Technologies and has an existing car park with two vehicle access points off Frederick Street.
The proposal includes 16 on-site car parking spaces, seven bicycle spaces and one motorcycle space.
That falls 15 spaces short of the 31 required under planning rules, but a transport assessment argues the shortfall is justified because the drive-through will absorb much of the demand and comparable restaurants typically need fewer parks than the standard rate suggests.
The restaurant would feature an array of illuminated signs including two five-metre blade signs at the north-eastern and north-western corners.
The application is now before Launceston City Council for assessment.
It comes after Grill’d opened its first Tasmanian store in Hobart in 2024 and after popular fast food outlet Nando’s opened their first store in Launceston last year.
