The Old Bank was empty after three previous restaurants had let the building in the town centre A dad from Southport has fulfilled his dream to take on the Old Bank on Lord Street in the centre of the town. The former Pizza Express and Ask Italian was put on the market after it was left empty for months. But when Adam Halstead saw it listed, he knew it was time he took it on and opened his own venue.
After viewing it in February last year, he was handed the keys six months later and started work on transforming it into a luxury bar before opening it as Gemini Lounge on December 1. After a flurry of festive trade, he shut the doors and began work on the kitchen in March this year and is now readying himself and his staff to relaunch as an upmarket restaurant in the town centre. Speaking to the ECHO, the 35-year-old said: "The plan was to always open as a restaurant.
I've lived in Southport my whole life, I've seen this building and always wanted it to be something nice. It was Ask Italian and then Pizza Express and I just wanted it to be something that would do the building justice. "I just feel like it needs to be something proper, something nice.
It needs to be something slightly upmarket and I think there is a gap in the market for a restaurant like this." Opening on Friday, October 18, the restaurant will serve delicacies from around the world, from fish and chips, to wagyu burgers, to sushi, the restaurant aims to please the taste buds of anyone who works through the door.