Decision made on plans to bring Preston's NIKO wine bar experience to Lytham

A planning decision has been pending for the past five months to open another NIKO wine bar branch in Lytham.

Now planners at Fylde Council have granted full planning permission for the project.

Nikola Salipur established NIKO, on Guildhall Street, Preston, as a bar that offers both exotic wines and craft beers, after coming to live in the city from Serbian capital Belgrade in 2019.

Apart from setting up the bar, which is aimed at trying to change the way people approach wine, Nikola is also the biggest importer of Serbian wine in the UK.

His TikTok series, called ‘Fine dining for f*** all’ , offers tips on enjoying good food and wine on a budget.

In May he submitted plans to open a second bar in Lytham town centre, lodging an application with Fylde Council for the change of use of the ground floor of an existing commercial premises at 12 Park Street, to a wine bar/wine merchants.

The premises were previously occupied by Heir Salon, an award-winning hair salon which has now relocated to Wrea Green.

Nikola said about the NIKO operation last year: “Right now we work with 11 wineries and we are the biggest importer of Serbian wine in the UK.

“It’s definitely our unique selling point as you get people coming in wanting to taste something they have never tried before or people who didn't even know that Serbia produced wine.”

The Tik Tok series sets NIKO apart from other wine bars as not only is it trying to establish a social media presence, yet it is trying to make wine more accessible to those who may not be knowledgeable when it comes to the drink.

Nikola, who says Serbia had a long history of wine making, said: “One day we were thinking of creative ways to promote Serbian wines and we just decided to spend a fiver on some tinned fish and bread and stick it on TikTok.”