Leisure group Loungers is to open its very first bar and restaurant in the region in a Northumberland market town.
The West Country cafe bar group has confirmed it is set to open Muro Lounge in Hexham at the end of August, a move which will also create a number of jobs. Muro Lounge will be open all day, every day for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner and drinks, including full kids’, gluten-free and vegan menus, served in a relaxed, welcoming space.
The Loungers build and design team are gearing up to transform the former Argos site on Fore Street to become “a real home from home”. The company says Muro Lounge will cater for all tastes throughout the day with a varied all-day menu, and activities for families including a selection of games, books, colouring pencils and pads, plus high chairs and baby-changing facilities.
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The company has submitted a licence application asking to serve alcohol from 10am to midnight daily, as well as a separate application for an outdoor seating area. Managers say Muro Lounge will also “welcome locals looking for a space for regular catch ups, meetings and events – everything from business networking, book or knitting clubs to parent and baby meets and life drawing classes”.
The move into the North East also means a range of front and back-of-house roles are on offer and a recruitment drive is now under way.
Gemma Irwin, community manager at Loungers, said: “We’re so looking forward to opening the doors of Muro Lounge at the end of August. We hope our family friendly environment and top-notch food and drink offering will prove popular with local residents.
“We’re passionate about integrating genuinely into the communities we serve so we’re looking forward to meeting everyone and to playing our part at the heart of Hexham’s food and drink scene. Anyone looking for a space to host events or groups should pop in once we’re open, we’d love to hear from them and see what we can do to help.”
The Bristol group’s CEO Nick Collins last year said the North East was a region Loungers was looking to edge into following Lounge openings in North Yorkshire – in Northallerton, Rippon and Scarborough – and property teams recently visited the area to look at potential sites.
Last week Loungers opened its 221st site when it launched Fioro Lounge, in Cheltenham. The company will also launch Bianco Lounge in The White Rose shopping centre in Leeds in May.
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