A POPULAR bar is gearing up for an exciting future with a major refurbishment.
The upstairs section of Henry’s Bar and Grill at Lytham will close tomorrow night and re-open on Thursday with a plush new look.
More than £60,000 is being spent on the improvements, which include bespoke leather seating, complete with booths incorporating integral champagne buckets.
A state-of-the-art sound system is also being installed, while there will be a new look and fresh equipment for the back of the bar.
After its re-opening, to the sounds of a regular live act at the venue, Dax on Sax, the bar, previously only open at weekends, will be available seven days a week, with an extensive programme of live music and other events planned.
The Henry’s Restaurant downstairs remains open as normal during the bar refurbishment, which will result in two additional jobs.
Henry’s and nearby sister venue Capri already employs more than 50 people.
“The bar has been open three years and we felt it was time for some major improvements,” said co-owner Charles Furnell.
“The growth from weekend opening only to seven days a week has been in response to demand for the bar and we felt it was the ideal time to give it a brand new look.
“The upstairs area will be completely redecorated and bespoke leather seating fitted.
“We aren’t moving the bar itself but the back of it will look completely different, with fresh operational equipment, such as tills, to make it more efficient.
“It is part of an ongoing programme of work for our venues, which began with some £300,000 worth of improvements to Henry’s Restaurant in 2011 and £1.4m we spent on opening our sister venue Capri in Dicconson Terrace last year.
“We plan a busy programme of live music and events such as DJ competitions and are looking forward to welcoming everyone to what will be a really exciting venue.”
Henry’s was opened by Michael Robinson and Charles Furnell three years ago in the former Chicory premises in Henry Street.
The sister venue Capri, around the corner in Dicconson Terrace, is in a building which was previously the Blue Pig and before that Sweet Chicory.
Henry’s Bar and Grill has quickly established itself as one of the leading dining venues in Lytham, with a string of top-rated reviews on internet sites such as Tripadvisor.
Among the headings of recent reviews on the site by diners are ‘Consistently great and value for money’, ‘Always brilliant’, ‘Lovely attentive staff’ and ‘A very cool place in the centre of Lytham’.