A restaurant chain branded ‘better than Wetherspoons’ has confirmed an official opening date for a new town centre branch.

Leo Lounge – part of the Loungers group – is set to open in Market Place, Faversham, later this year as part of the group’s rapid expansion plans.

Filling the gap left by NatWest, which closed in June 2022, the official opening date has been given as June 26.

The spot will offer drinks, breakfast, lunch and dinner alongside children’s, gluten-free and vegan menus.

Glowing reviews for other branches are commonplace, with one fan on TripAdvisor calling them "better than Wetherspoons" with "just the right vibe".

Gemma Irwin, Head of Community at Loungers, says: “We’re so looking forward to opening the doors of Leo Lounge in June. 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 Faversham’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.”

Bosses have applied for a premises licence application for the Faversham building and hope to sell alcohol between 10am and midnight, seven days a week.

The opening hours will be between 8am and 12.30am every day, with late-night refreshment between 11pm and 12.30am.

Lounges, which describes its venues as “informal café bars”, has more than 200 across the country.

The parent company, Loungers, has already launched Lounge sites in Deal, Westwood Cross and Sittingbourne. It also owns Cosy Clubs and opened one in a former fabric store in Canterbury city centre in 2022.

It is estimated a new Loungers restaurant is now opening in the UK every 10 days as bosses at the firm look to capitalise on the success of the 22-year-old business.