THE Mayor of Dudley was on hand on Monday morning (May 15) to officially open Stourbridge’s new KFC store.

Replacing the chicken chain’s Amblecote restaurant, the ring-road facing branch – complete with drive-thru – has created more than 40 jobs in the town.

Mayor Mohammed Hanif said it was on “honour” to be invited to cut the ribbon before declaring the new larger, two-storey venue, open to the public.

Cllr Hanif said: “I am delighted to be asked to open Stourbridge’s newest KFC. I’m really honoured to be here and it has been lovely to speak to all the staff members.

“As mayor, it’s always great to see restaurants and businesses creating new jobs in the borough for members of the local community.

“We always encourage new businesses to set up in the borough and do our best to support them to make them a continued success.

“The store is great for the local community and to know that it has created so many jobs is just wonderful.”

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Cherie Hyett, KFC Stourbridge’s general manager, (pictured above) said: “Having worked at KFC for just under 10 years, I was very proud to watch the ribbon cut at our grand opening.

“The new restaurant looks amazing and has all the latest features, including state of the art digital menu boards. I can’t wait to welcome all our new customers.”

Among the new recruits are two long-lost half-sisters, Laura Woodhouse and Sherrie Smith (pictured below), who met for the first time when they interviewed at the restaurant’s assessment day.

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Shane Field, area manager, (pictured below in the red hat) said: “As well as being able to recruit almost 50 new staff members, we have also transferred all our staff from the Amblecote store.

“We are happy that there are no divides between the old staff and new staff and everyone is working really well together to bring the best service we can to the people of Stourbridge.

“Our new Stourbridge store is a lot bigger, brighter and more modern than the old one and I think it has a really fresh look which will be a big hit with our customers.”

Stourbridge News:

The new drive-thru KFC restaurant on St John’s Road will be open daily between 10.30am and 11pm.