Restaurant looks to extend opening hours

CUSTOMERS at a popular town eaterie will be able to linger longer if proposals to extend opening hours are approved.

Bosses at the Torre de Hercules Mediterranean restaurant in Earl Shilton want to trade until midnight Sunday to Thursday and until 1.30am on Friday and Saturday.

When in 2013 the owners received change of use approval to turn the former barber shop on High Street into a restaurant the opening hours condition stipulated an 11pm shutdown, effectively meaning a 10.30pm close.

Now the business has been up and running successfully, operator Manuel Blanco is looking to adapt, at the request of customers.

In the submission to Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council he states: “The restaurant has been a reputable business for almost three years and it has been requested from customers whether it would be possible to have longer opening hours, as often later diners find their meal cut short.

“Also, for the special occasions such as New Year’s Eve and the Christmas holidays, the premises cannot reach it’s full potential within the community due to the restrictive opening hours.”

Before launching the 36 cover restaurant in 2015 Mr Blanco, a native of Galicia in Spain, spent a year renovating the dilapidated property.

He refurbished the ground floor, installed a new frontage, built a single storey extension to the rear and installed a stateof-the-art kitchen.

Torre de Hercules is now rated the number one restaurant in Earl Shilton with 80% of reviewers on Trip Advisor giving it the thumbs-up and branding it “excellent”. Focusing on fresh ingredients diners can choose from authentic Spanish tapas, pizza and pasta, chicken, salmon or steak.