A new thai restaurant set to open will bring new jobs to town when it opens next month.

The Giggling Squid, a fast growing chain of restaurants that introduced 'Thai Tapas' to Britain is planning to open in Sevenoaks, bringing with it 20 new employment opportunities.

The new 100-seater, split-level restaurant on the former Strada Site, Dorset Street, is the latest addition to the group taking its restaurant number to double figures.

The latest addition to the chain cost £250,000 to be refurbished and will be open to the public on Tuesday August 5.

Despite not being operational yet, the Giggling Squid staff are confident with the local public interest in the development.

Managing director of the chain, Andrew Laurillard said: “Our Tunbridge Wells branch has many regulars who travel down from Sevenoaks and they’ve been pleading with us to open in the town for some time.”

Giggling Squid currently has restaurants in Brighton, Hove, Crawley, Tunbridge Wells, Henley-on-Thames, Reigate, Stratford-upon-Avon, Marlow and Horsham.

The company that opened its first restaurant in Hove in 2009, is now set to exchange contracts on two further properties in the next few weeks and expects to hold at least 8 more openings in the next year.

Co-owned with Andy’s wife, Pranee Laurillard, Giggling Squid’s formula of serving “rustic” Thai cuisine, with the emphasis on sea- and street-food, is a winning one.

Fans compliment the restaurants for having the “feel” of a one-off independent, rather than a mass “produced” corporate chain.

Since opening the first Giggling Squid in 2009, the pair deliberately set out to look and cook different – using drift wood and reclaimed timbers, to create a modern chic environment.

The brand is derived from the nickname of one of their three children and co-owner, Pranee, commenting on what makes the restaurant a success said: “It’s all down to the food.”

As a masters business graduate she now runs the operations side of the company.

She added: “We offer a professional management structure, invest heavily in training and can offer a real prospect of rapid career development as the group expands."

The Sevenoaks launch will be followed by another in Maidstone during the autumn.

For menus and more information visit: http://www.gigglingsquid.com/