RESTAURANT owner Sanu Miah spent a long time finding the right spot for his new restaurant.

Although he lives in Rochdale he did not want to open a restaurant in his home town.

He said: "It's a small place and I didn't feel it was the right place to open a restaurant.

"I came to look at Bolton and saw that there were a lot of restaurants here and I felt this was the town with potential to start a new restaurant."

He toured the town looking for the right premises and found his present building in Crook Street next to the church in Trinity Street.

The building has been occupied by several businesses in the past, including an English restaurant 20 years ago and a nightclub, before being left empty for a while.

But for Sanu this was the building he was looking for - it had the space for 60 people, with room upstairs and plenty of safe parking for customers.

He redecorated in a modern, neutral style and hired chefs and front-of-house staff.

In the year since he opened, he has made quite an impact on the local eating out scene.

When he heard a friend of a blind customer ordering a meal, he decided he would introduce special braille menus, which have been a success.

The Achari has also introduced south-east Asian food to the menu, with specialities like a traditional Bangladeshi fish dish but using Scottish salmon because it has fewer bones.

Another specialist dish is steak banazi supreme, using good steak, which comes with a special spicy sauce, and south Indian chilli chicken.

He has also introduced a special Sunday menu where, for £9.95, customers can order anything they want.

"I want to get more people to visit Bolton for a meal and this is one of the promotions designed to do that," Sanu said.

The Achari enthusiastically took part in the first Bolton Food and Drink Festival, offering special meal deals for customers during the period.

In a bid to raise the tourist profile of the restaurant, Sanu is constantly updating staff training and he will be taking a course on customer relations organised by Bolton Council's tourist department.

He also plans to become more involved in the community and says he plans to work with the Bolton Lads and Girls Club.

Sanu has six employees - two chefs and four front-of-house staff - and although he is a trained chef, he greets customers instead of cooking.

Like many businessmen, Sanu is constantly looking for new ways to promote his business and he advertises in the local media and on the internet.

As part of the tourism award the judges will visit the restaurant. "The judges will get the same treatment as anyone else who comes here. I treat every customer as special - I don't give anyone different treatment," Sanu said.