There has been no recent interest in turning a Richmond town centre shop into a supermarket, say the agents.
Uno Ristorante, which already has outlets in Yarm and Middlebrough, has applied for planning permission to turn a shop into a restaurant.
The shop at 30 Market Place was previously a discount store called Goodwins but is now being used by Yorkshire Trading as an extension to its nearby premises.
Supporting documents submitted with the application say that Sainsburys were at one point interested in opening a store in the property, however this never happened.
Richmond Business and Tourism Association has objected to the change of use, with members saying they would prefer the building to remain a shop and would have welcomed the supermarket opening a branch in the town.
However, the agents for the property say that while they have lots of interest in the property, it has all been from people wanting to turn it into a restaurant.
Damian Kearns, from Kearns and Paretners LLP, who started marketing the business in 2015, said: “I have had a great deal of interest in the property, but all centred around restaurant use.
“In an age where it is possible to purchase most things using a smart phone, there needs to be other reasons to go into town.
“The development of a retail park at Catterick has undoubtedly taken demand away from Richmond and does, of course, offer leisure and catering.
“It is clear to me, after more than 30 years’ experience in the business, that successful town centres depend upon leisure and catering to support the retail offer. Towns which fail to recognize this are condemned to decline.”
To see the plans in full and comment on the application click here.
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Why isn’t a restaurant been considered? I think this would be very popular.