Nando's is set to open at Parc Fforestfach in Swansea in summer 2026, taking a 3,945 sq ft restaurant unit in a move that adds another big name to the city’s fast-growing fried chicken scene. Wingers will also open its first Welsh location at the retail park in the same period, in a 2,040 sq ft unit on a 15-year lease.
The new Nando's is expected to create around 40 jobs, based on earlier planning documents, while Wingers says its Swansea restaurant will bring up to 20 local jobs and will be the company’s largest in the UK. Anthony Round, who is linked to the Wingers opening, said he was very excited about the move and called the site a perfect fit.
The Nando's plan was first flagged last October, when Swansea Bay News reported the chain was eyeing the Parc Fforestfach site. Planning documents later showed Nando's was lined up to take over the existing Card Factory unit, giving the barbecue chicken chain a larger foothold in west Swansea as it continues to build out its south-west Wales presence.
The developments come after a run of fried chicken openings and expansions in and around Swansea over the past 18 months. Wingstop opened on Wind Street in February 2025, Slim Chickens followed on the same street on 26 June 2025, and Popeyes launched on Oxford Street on 3 October 2025. Popeyes also opened in Llanelli at Parc Trostre after taking over the former Pizza Hut unit.
That means there have been six major fried chicken arrivals or expansions in 18 months, with three of the city-centre openings sitting within a few hundred metres of each other on or around Wind Street and Oxford Street. But the Parc Fforestfach deals point to a different customer base: the sort of car-borne family trade that retail parks can pull in, rather than the late-night party crowd that has helped fuel the city-centre rush.
The Nando's opening also lands as the chain keeps tightening its grip on the region. Earlier this month, the Llanelli branch was ranked the second-best Nando's in Wales based on Tripadvisor reviews, a reminder that the brand’s local draw has been building well beyond Swansea’s centre. For Parc Fforestfach, the arrival of Nando's and Wingers suggests the same appetite for chicken is now spreading outward, not just deeper into the city core.
