Casa bar is a big hit

Stafford's newest nightspot has proved a hit with revellers over the Christmas holiday period.

The Casa bar, in Bridge Street, welcomed more than 4,000 customers over just five days of trading.

It opened in the refurbished "Hacienda" building last Thursday and has been open each afternoon and evening since, apart from Christmas Day.

Co-owners Nick Wilks, Dave Malia and Jack Peters say they are happy with the response from Stafford residents.

Mr Wilks said: "We've had more than 4,000 people through the doors, and we are very pleased with that.

"It is a very unusual time to open, into the Christmas weekend, but at least it gives Stafford people a choice to go somewhere else over the festive season.

"We've had a lot of good comments about the place, about how upmarket the venue is and that people like the atmosphere. The age mix, of over-25s, has also been very good.

"The opening of Casa in Stafford has generated a lot of interest. We are inviting people to come along on New Year's Eve and just enjoy themselves."

Casa has been opening at midday but may start opening at 11am to meet customer demand.

It has a licence to open until 4am but has been closing between midnight and 2am so far, depending on how busy it is.

The venue – a lounge, bar and restaurant – is aimed at the over-25s and around 800 people turned out for the opening night alone.

The three co-owners have spent more than £1 million transforming the landmark building, a former Wimpy restaurant, into the new nightspot over the last few months.

Casa, which is Spanish for "home", includes a Mediterranean-influenced restaurant serving tapas.

The showpiece of the whole design is the grand first-floor terrace for outdoor drinking.

Completion of the refurbishment, originally scheduled for October, was delayed by bad weather so work continued the day after the grand opening to finish tiling the "piazza" courtyard area outside the entrance. Casa features black and white interior decor and state-of-the-art lighting technology.