Nightclub to take over former Wolverhampton Chinese restaurant
A gay nightclub is taking over a former Chinese restaurant in Wolverhampton, it can be revealed.
Bosses at Gorgeous bar are planning to move over the road in School Street to the former Imperial buffet restaurant.
The popular restaurant closed last year.
Twenty jobs will be created by the move, with the building five times bigger than the current Gorgeous bar.
General manager Shaun Keasey said the new bar would cater for 500 extra people and give the city a venue it could be proud of.
The bar first opened in 2009 in Salop Street, before moving to its current home at Network House a year later.
Mr Keasey said the ongoing uncertainty over the future of the Network House office block, which could be flattened to make way for a new retail development, coupled with the opportunity which lay over the road at the empty Imperial convinced him the time was right to relocate.
He said: "We had been talking about moving for a while, and at some point the current site is going to disappear, so we thought rather than waiting for that to happen and keeping our fingers crossed let's make the move now.
"We were aware the Imperial was available so we held negotiations and decided it was the right place for us, especially as it is so close to where we already are, so we won't have to say to people 'we're moving from here to here'."
The relaunched Gorgeous is expected to open next September, with work to refurbish the former Chinese buffet restaurant set to start in March.
The Imperial closed suddenly in February 2013, with the site remaining empty ever since.
The current Gorgeous bar will continue to be run as a 'pre-bar' under the name Event, and will also be used to stage private functions.
Mr Keasey said the venue's success over the last five years meant Gorgeous had outgrown its current home.
He said: "We are so proud of what we have achieved with the existing Gorgeous, it has become an integral part of Wolverhampton's nightlife. There is regularly queues at the door which, with the current trade and conditions, is no mean feat.
"That people are willing to stand outside and wait to get in is testament to what we have achieved.
"Hopefully we can deliver a venue the city can be proud of. There hasn't been a big gay venue since the old Dorchester club, and we're going to outdo that."
