A restaurant to the stars has undergone a half a million pound transformation, and is set to open as a members' club and events venue.

The former Kits Coty eatery, in Old Chatham Road, Blue Bell Hill, will also be used as a co-working space.

The family-run business closed after 35 years at the end of 2019, having, over the years, fed celebrities such as Sir Cliff Richard, model Kelly Brook, Strictly Come Dancing veterans Ola and James Jordan and Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud.

The building was bought by two brothers, a colleague and an old friend, and the venue has been renamed Edenwood Place.

Although the group doesn’t have experience running venues such as this, they have brought in experts to oversee the business, co-owner Michael van der Straaten, 58, said.

The four spent about £500,000 of their own savings and pensions on the refurb, with terraces cut out of the chalk hillside, which overlook the countryside, function rooms for weddings and parties on Saturdays as well as a co-working space and more car parking places.

Mr Van Der Straaten, a financial advisor, said: “It would be cheaper to knock it down but we liked the history of the building and wanted to build on that.”

Social memberships will also be on offer, with evenings of entertainment and food and drinks on Fridays, to begin with, and ticketed events, which members have first refusal on, coming later.

The venue was due to open in September 2020, but this had to be pushed back several times due to the pandemic.

Test events have been run but the venue will officially open on Friday, August 6. Some six weddings have already been booked.

Initially, the plan was for the flat where the restaurant owner lived to be turned into offices, but as the pandemic continued, it was decided a co-working space, which people can use for meeting clients and networking, was a better use.

Mr Van Der Straaten added: “The location of the building is superb, right between two motorways and then you have got the views.”

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