TWO years ago Lyndsey Sloly and her husband Aron were devastated when fire ravaged their popular cafe and they were forced to close it down.

But now the couple have realised their dream by reopening a brand new eating house on the site of the former TSB building in Breightmet — called The Bank Cafe Bar and Grill.

And the early signs are that the new cafe, on the corner of Bury Road and Long Lane, is proving a massive hit.

Mr Sloly said "It's very early yet but we've got people looking in through the windows and everyone seems very interested in the place. There are people coming in who remember it when it was a bank and saying things like 'I had my first bank account here" which is lovely."

The couple had turned their first cafe, Cafe 294, on Bury Road, Breightmet, into a busy community facility with dozens of elderly customers and a meals' delivery service for housebound pensioners. They were so committed to the community that when the cafe had to close they even cooked meals at home and then took them round to them.

After the fire they turned it into a a bistro with later opening hours and an alcohol licence but decided to move to the former bank site as it was a more central location.

The bistro is still committed to the local community and is also offering a 10 per cent discount for life for residents of BL2 - the area where the venture is situated.

"We wanted to give something back to the community and to show them that we're we'd love them to come in and see us," stated Mr Sloly.

The decor is basically black and white and contemporary, and the menu - all cooked by self-taught chef Mrs Sloly - includes a winning mixture of Italian meals and hot skillet and skewer dishes of chicken, lamb, seafood and steak

The bistro's Indian Curried Steak is already proving a hit with customers along with its Round The World skewer dish which comes with a metal rack and a choice of skewers including chicken, lamb, pork, seafood and vegetarian options.

They also offer customers a choice of seasonings and sauces to choose from.

Mr Sloly added: "We've worked out that there are around 40 different combinations which means that if people come in once a week for a year they can have a different meal every time!"