Manager of Blackpool's Vintro Lounge celebrates successful opening week
and live on Freeview channel 276
Vintro Lounge, the newest venue from Bristol-based company Loungers, opened in St John's Square in the unit previously occupied by Pizza Express last Wednesday (June 9).
The eatery has created 40 new jobs for locals, and it is hoped at least 15 more will be available in the coming months.
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Hide AdMartyn Reid, general manager at the venue, said its first week in the resort town centre had been a success, and he looked forward to integrating even further into the local community.
Originally from Stoke, Martyn has lived in the resort for seven years, and spearheaded Chorley's Calico Lounge before taking the reins in Blackpool
He said: "It's been really busy since we opened, which is great. We had a few teething problems which you can probably expect, given that we had over 40 members of staff to train.
"The customers have been great, and we've had fantastic feedback so far. People have been enjoying the food, the tapas has been really popular.
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Hide Ad"We're dog friendly as well, so we've had a lot of people bringing their dogs in while they're having a coffee. There aren't many places that allow dogs in, especially in town centres."
Martyn added that the ethos of the Loungers company is to become part of the community, which begins with raising money for important local causes.
He continued: "We're raising money for Brian House and Trinity Hospice, so we donate 20p for every coffee we sell and 50p for every burger.
"I wanted to support a charity that matters to a lot of people in the local area, and we always want to do what we can for them.
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Hide Ad"Hopefully when Covid restrictions ease we'll be able to put on more community events like coffee mornings, and get people together.
"That's what we want, we want to be able to bring people together and that's what I've really missed during the pandemic, so we're looking forward to it."