A nightspot which shut three years ago has now fully reopened after a £20,000 renovation, and aims to win over families.

Ypres Bar and Lounge opened its new front bar at its site on Friday in West Street, Sittingbourne, complete with a cocktail menu and plush seating.

The lounge, which boarded up its doors at the end of 2020 due to the pandemic, changed ownership in July 2021 when Rami Botros took over.

It then re-opened via the use of its back bar three months later, however the front of the lounge has not been accessible and has been undergoing renovations since.

The aim was for the bar to be “really community spirited”.

Owners said: "If we're having bands on it won’t be the heavy rock stuff, but more melodic, older style music.

"Our clientèle in general during the day will be a real mixture, but we're going away from the traditional pub.

“That's not something we thought would necessarily work in Sittingbourne as there's enough of them, so we were looking for something a bit more modern and community spirited.”

The site’s re-decoration has cost up to £20,000 and includes a new door, sign and Mediterranean colour scheme.

The changes have long been in the pipeline, with a refurbishment originally planned for last winter.

Owners said utility bills have shot up more than they anticipated, and they have been trying to minimise costs.

Despite the hold up of the relaunch, Mr Botros says he, and his customers, are happy with the result.

He added: “We took over in July 2021 and it wasn’t in the best state.

“So it’s taken us a long time to get to this point, but we’re happy with what we’ve done and so were our customers at the weekend.

“We’re going to start adding food soon too as well, so we still have a bit of a way to go until everything is finished but it’s great what we have done already with the new bar.”