A bar celebrating the 1970s, 80s and 90s is celebrating its opening day today.

The Rewind Bar is filling the former Auction House site on Ashford's New Street following a massive redesign to convert it into a retro paradise.

Conceived before lockdown began, the pandemic has provided ample time for the idea to be fully realised.

Owner Wendy Richardson says Covid-19 has "made made me focus on getting fully ready to open in August".

"Originally the idea was for it to be a live 70s, 80s and 90s music bar, but because of Covid-19 that's not quite possible yet," she said.

"In the meantime we'll have some background music from the period and video projections to instil that atmosphere."

Ms Richardson, 38, got the lease after being in a 1980s-themed band and having always dreamt of opening a bar dedicated to the decade.

Today's launch isn't what she had hoped for due to virus restrictions, so she's hoping for a grander affair somewhere down the line.

The Godinton resident said: "We're definitely going to try and get in an 80s band to come and launch it, but it's very hard to know when we can do it."

Supplying retro cocktails alongside the usual fare, the bar owner is hoping to create a welcoming and relaxed environment at the New Street spot.

She noted: "It's not a club, it's a bar. It'll open until 1am, but I just want to create a friendly place where people can meet up and have a few drinks."

Ms Richardson - who also runs a dance studio - is a qualified fitness instructor and aims to run fitness classes in the bar using music from her selected era.

The Rewind Bar is not the first drinking establishment to take up residence in the New Street unit.

Former tenant the Auction House had its license revoked in 2017 after a series of of glass attacks, with the venture reopening in May 2018 following renovation work.

The bar was then rebranded as Lot 7, but closed within a year.

This was followed by another hopeful, who restored the name the Auction House and heavily renovated and refurbished the building and garden.

Unfortunately by last July, this new iteration of the Auction House had also had to shut its doors.

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