A new sports bar has opened in a former town centre nightclub following a £400,000 revamp.

There has been a complete overhaul of the inside and outside areas with the Dartford Sports Bar now open for business.

The building was taken over by licensees Chris Michaelas and April Reeves just before the first Covid lockdown in March 2020.

Chris said he had been looking for a venue to run in the town centre for seven years but had not been able to find a suitable site.

But then the former Industry club in Spital Street came available and the pair jumped at the chance to take it over.

They both have experience in the pub industry and have links to the town with Chris setting up Dartford-based sporting charity Halls 1919 Foundation linked to Halls Athletic Football Club.

Chris said: "Taking on a new venue at the start of the pandemic has definitely been a challenge but it has been worth every minute.

"I’m so glad we were patient and that we held out because The Dartford Sports Bar couldn’t be more perfect for us.

"We’ve worked so hard on creating and perfecting this space and it has been a pleasure introducing it to the locals.

"We do what we do because we love giving people a good time and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us.”

Inside the pub, there are two zones with a quieter restaurant and dining area and a booth area each with their own TV screen to select whatever channel and watch whatever game they want on Sky Sports or BT Sport.

The venue also has a pool table, dartboard and dancefloor with DJ.

The pub is owned by Admiral Taverns and with it being a nightclub in its past life, a late night licence is in place meaning it can stay open to 3am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

Outside there is a large covered courtyard which has been subject of major attention during the renovation works and features individual heated booths again with their own dedicated TV.

Lunch and dinner menus have different ranges of food with the evening offering American diner inspired dishes and pub classics.