PAUL Heathcote hopes his transformed bar and restaurant can be one of best signings at Wanderers this summer.

Bolton’s best-known celebrity chef threw open the doors of his new venture at the Whites Hotel, welcoming some famous names to sample the new surroundings.

Mayor Cllr Roger Hayes and his mayoress, wife Jaleh, TV presenter Gordon Burns, ex-Lancashire and England cricketers Mike Watkinson and Warren Hegg plus Wanderers manager Phil Parkinson and defender David Wheater were among the guests at The Grill, by Heathcote & Co.

Heathcote’s have poured more than £140,000 into updating the décor, creating a new sports bar area and remodelled dining areas.

A new menu - promising the “best steaks and burgers in Bolton” – has also been launched, with tasters laid on for guests at the gala opening.

“It has been a busy summer – we’ve been making our own signings in the restaurant and the lounge,” Mr Heathcote told The Bolton News.

“It has been 15 years since the last refurb so I think it was in need of it.

“The grill has got its own identity now and I think it looks very different and has brought everything up to date. We’re very pleased with the results.”

Based within the hotel at the Macron at the site of the former Pure Bar and Brasserie, The Grill is aiming to become one of the town’s most recognisable eateries.

It is also hoped an updated sports bar, with new TVs screening live matches and news, can satisfy the growing number of supporters now using the hotel’s facilities on a match day.

“We’ve deliberately put more televisions in the sports bar area and we’ve been discussing with Paul Aldridge (board advisor) about some of the memorabilia which could be brought into the lounge eventually,” Mr Heathcote said.

“I think it’s exactly the same audience we’re after except for the fact we’d like to bring a few customers back who’d drifted away because it did look a bit tired.

“We have a very hard-working team here in the kitchen and in the restaurant. We made a significant investment in the project and I would never have put a restaurant under our name until I’d done that. I certainly wouldn’t have done so in the guise it was before but I am very happy to do it now.”

The challenge was also thrown down to Bolton Wanderers supporters to help name the refurbished bar and restaurant areas, which threw up some interesting entries.

“We had some great fun and got some really imaginative suggestions,” he said. “I was never sold on Trotters Bar, which was quite popular – it brought up a few too many connotations.

“I can’t take any credit for the idea, that was from our marketing man, Paul Holliday, but it created a bit of a buzz and got people involved.”