A LONGSTANDING family restaurant has moved to expand into larger premises - as well as establishing a second home in a golf club.

Nick’s Restaurant, formerly in Chorley Old Road, has been welcoming new and old customers to their Horwich site on Chorley New Road, after moving to create more space, including an improved upstairs bar area.

Owner Nick Anthony Cullen has also revealed that the restaurant will be opening a second site inside Turton Golf Club in Bromley Cross.

Nick said: “We wanted to expand and take it up a level with better facilities like a bigger kitchen and our own bar, so people can have pre-drinks before a meal, or even after.

“We were at the old place for 21 years and I just looked at my life and thought about what more I could do with it.”

So far, the new premises have proved a hit. But this was not planned to be permanent initially, as Nick had only plans to move into the golf club.

Nick said: “The golf club wanted a restaurant on site, to provide a relaxed golfing experience, so we took the opportunity.

“I sold the old place and was just looking for a short-term pop-up site until we moved to the golf centre. But then we turned it into something permanent because we loved the new space. Twenty-one years is a long time to be somewhere, and I felt we outgrew the previous site.”

The golf club restaurant will open in April, with their usual food and drink offering.

Nick said: “We suffered in lockdown, so this has given us a fresh start and it’s a positive thing coming out of the lockdown. We are quite busy getting both new and old customers in, who have said such nice things about the reopening.”

Customers who had pre-existing Christmas bookings have retained them at the new site.

Nick said: “People who had Christmas bookings came to check us out and then decided to keep their bookings. I am feeling good about the next chapter, there are lots of challenges at times, but I think we are all up to the challenge to make it a bigger and better for Bolton.”

Nick has been a chef since he was 15, working at places like Enzo’s before he opened his own restaurant in 2000.