Two brothers fresh from living in Los Angeles have returned to Herne Bay to start two new businesses in the town.

Kris and Antony Searle, who moved back to Herne Bay in December, have set up a sweet shop and cocktail bar in the High Street.

The pair, aged 37 and 24, both live in the town and will be opening their separate ventures this month.

Antony, who also runs Jessye’s Kitchen in the High Street, was modelling in America and has taken over the former Stable Bar behind the old Queen Vic pub.

He is converting the site into a cocktail bar over two floors, which is set to open on Saturday, June 18.

Antony said: “There is nothing like it around. As I always say to people, there is nowhere to go for a cocktail.

“It was a very rustic and old school place before so I wanted to modernise it to a certain standard, but also keep some of the old brickwork.

“We got the place three weeks ago and we have been ripping the whole thing out since then.”

The Broadway resident’s main bar will be called The Lounge, with The Basement below.

Antony added: “I do not want a certain age group – I would like to invite everyone.

“There is money being spent in Herne Bay and there is obviously a plan to bring the area up.

“It is nice to have a business here in the town, as it is where I live, and there is quite a lot going on at the moment.”

Kris – whose Sweet Sol confectionary shop will officially open on Saturday – was singing and touring in Los Angeles for 10 years.

He said: “We came back to Herne Bay in Christmas 2015 and my partner Chris and I came up with the idea of a sweet shop a few months
ago.

“This shop has got a huge glass window at the front and down the side which allows us to display the sweets properly.”

Kris, who also owns the Music Studio On The Pier, hopes to grow his business in future years.

He added: “I could not believe how much money is being spent in Herne Bay.

“There are lots of businesses moving in and places being built – it seemed perfect to me.”