A pub landlord has revealed plans to expand their business empire by opening a new restaurant.
The East Kent in Oxford Street, Whitstable, is aiming to expand into another property in the heart of the popular seaside town.
It looks poised to take over children’s clothing boutique store Peekaboo Kids in Harbour Street with its owners planning to retire this month after 22 years.
Plans from pub bosses have been submitted to the council last month requesting permission to change the use of the building from retail to a restaurant.
According to papers sent to Canterbury City Council, the site will be transformed into a wood-fired kitchen and there are hopes of obtaining an alcohol licence through a separate application.
Named the Whitstable Woodfire Kitchen, Natalie Hennessy, the landlord of The East Kent pub, told KentOnline: "Although it’s still early days, we are hoping to open another exciting addition to the EK family.
“The success of The East Kent in Whitstable, our beloved pub with its own wood-fired oven in the garden, which is loved by residents and visitors, has inspired us to explore new opportunities.
“Our plan is for the new restaurant in Harbour Street to offer delicious food all cooked in a custom-built wood-fire kitchen.”
The new eatery would be a “small 30-cover restaurant with four tables outside” in a courtyard rather than on public footpaths.
The ground floor would be overhauled to bring in tables and chairs for those dining in, while a takeaway offering would be available for customers.
A kitchen to the rear of the property would host both pizza and regular ovens with room for flash coolers and kegs.
There are also hopes of seeing a two-bedroom home incorporated across the first and second floors of the building.
A timeline for the project has not been confirmed but the licensing application reveals provisional opening times of 11am to 11pm seven days a week.
Work has been ongoing to the outside of the building with scaffolding recently erected, although bosses have not revealed what is taking place.
Objections have been submitted from critics of the scheme, who have highlighted concerns with noise and ventilation.
Peter Colthup, writing on the council’s planning portal, said: “If the restaurant is allowed to play music, how will this be contained within the building? Often restaurants become noise nuisances when windows and doors are left open.
“How much noise will be emitted from the ventilation system, which will be less than 10 metres from bedroom windows?
“The applicant states that all waste will be kept within the building. I hope this is the case and that bins are not allowed to spill out onto Harbour Street.
“Should bins be allowed outside, I hope that a condition is applied whereby no waste is deposited after 10pm. The noise of bottles crashing into refuse bins in close proximity to our house is intolerable.”
Tanya Price added: “[We] cannot have a restaurant churning out its fumes/heat directly onto our property and land, let alone the noise that comes with it.”
Peekaboo bosses revealed earlier this year they would be closing the store on June 15 to spend more time with family. They declined to comment when approached by KentOnline.
