Turtle Bay restaurant chain set to open new venue in Blackpool

Turtle Bay, which operates restaurants and cocktail bars across the country, could be set to take over empty space in Talbot Square.

The company, which already has venues in Preston and Blackburn, has applied to Blackpool Council for a premises licence for the former Che Bar and Coco Lounge on the ground floor of Forshaw's Hotel, formerly the Clifton Hotel.

It follows a £400,000 investment in the hotel which included money from a Blackpool Council regeneration fund.

According to a public notice published in the Blackpool Gazette, Turtle Bay Hospitality Ltd is seeking permission to sell alcohol and put on live and recorded music between 8am and midnight Sunday to Wednesday, and from 8am until 1am on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

According to its website, Turtle Bay offers Caribbean cocktails and dishes in "homage to Surfside and the hundreds of other beach shacks of the Caribbean that share its friendly, feel-good spirit".

Che Bar and Coco Lounge have been closed for around 10 years but at their peak were at the heart of Blackpool's nightlife .

Forshaw's Hotel has recently been given a £400,000 facelift after concerns were raised about the neglected state of the historic facade.

Repairs began at the start of 2021, and took around a year to complete, with the council contributing a £178,300 grant towards the improvements, and the rest coming from the property’s owner Juniper Overseas Ltd.

The council funding came from the Quality Corridors Property Improvement Fund (PIF), which is part of Lancashire Enterprise Partnership’s Growth Deal Fund and the Local Transport Fund.

The 90-bedroom hotel, which had been operating as part of the Ibis brand, was renamed Forshaw’s Hotel earlier this year in a throwback to the original property on the site.

In its heyday as The Clifton, Frank Sinatra stayed there while n Blackpool to perform at the Opera House in the 1950s.

The property, which has been owned by the Yorkshire-based Brook Leisure since 2008, was operated as a Travelodge until 2013 when it became an Ibis Styles as part of a franchise agreement.