Loungers chooses Bournemouth for 22nd site
Restaurant/café/bar group Loungers has opened its 22nd site, and the 19th under its Lounge format, in Westbourne, Bournemouth.
The new site, Circo Lounge, is the second opening in Bournemouth this year, coming four weeks after the opening of Conto Lounge in Winton. Ludo Lounge, in the Southbourne area of Bournemouth, opened in July 2010.
The new site, previously a newsagents with living accommodation to the rear, can cater for 80 covers indoors, with a 50-cover terrace to the rear.
Managing director Alex Reilley said: "We're really excited about the opening of Circo Lounge. It's a very quirky site and we've introduced some new design aspects, including exposing the original tongue-and-groove ceiling and keeping the old tobacco-stained wallpaper in what used to be the living room and dining room behind the newsagents. Bournemouth has been an extremely good town for us so far and Westbourne has been the most mentioned area of Bournemouth when people have said where they thought we should open."
Loungers has plans to open two more Lounges in the coming months, including Modelo Lounge in Hove, which should open in late April, and Verdo Lounge in Wylde Green, Birmingham, which should open in late May. The group are also hopeful of obtaining planning consent on a property in Christchurch, which is earmarked to be a "Lounge".
The group has also secured a further two sites for its Cosy Club format in Cardiff and Salisbury.
Contracts have been exchanged on a 7,300sq ft Cosy Club unit in St David's 2 shopping centre in Cardiff, which will be the largest Cosy Club to date, and planning consent has been obtained and contracts exchanged on a 6,000sq ft Cosy Club site in Salisbury.
The group remains on target to be operating 28 sites by the end of 2012.
Loungers enjoys busiest-ever month in December >>
Café-bar and restaurant group Loungers hits 20 sites >>
By Neil Gerrard
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