The 68th restaurant in the Planet Hollywood chain will open in Dublin's St Stephen's Green in mid-November. Executives of the movie-theme restaurant chain were in Dublin this week to recruit staff for the 250-seat operation.

"We plan to hire about 140 local staff," regional director Mr Tim Moss told The Irish Times. Planet Hollywood is recruiting for about 50 waiters and waitresses, about 30 chefs and "back-of-house" staff as well as hostesses, bar attendants and sales staff for the movie theme merchandise that features in all Planet Hollywood restaurants.

The company had applied for a licence to serve alcohol so the exact date of the Dublin opening would depend on the licensing process, Mr Moss explained. The chain, which began in New York in 1991, was the brainchild of Mr Robert Earl, who worked in the Hard Rock Cafe chain and movie producer, Mr Keith Barish.

Their idea was to serve good food in restaurants decorated like movie sets and filled with memorabilia from the films. They were backed by Hollywood stars including Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis and the chain was born.

"Eatatainment is the buzz word in the US for what we do," according to Mr Moss.

The Dublin restaurant will be a joint venture with the U2 rock group, which is giving some financial backing. A total investment of £5 million is involved. The group has no immediate plans for another outlet in Ireland - it will wait and see how the new restaurant performs.