Restaurant to relocate

A RESTAURANT in Henley is to move to smaller premises.

Spice Merchant, which is currently in Thames Side, will relocate to Hart Street in early August.

Owner Bashir Islam made the decision because the current premsies were not attracting enough customers to fill the space.

He has made an application South Oxfordshire District Council for a late-night alcohol licence for the new premises, which formerly housed the Thai Orchid restaurant.

Mr Islam bought the unit in February with the idea of opening a wine bar but decided that Henley didn’t need another one of those.

He was also planning to refurbish his current restaurant with new toilets and flooring as well as convert staff living accommodation upstairs into a flat.

At the time, manager Hasan Chowdhury said: “So many people have come in to ask me if we are moving but we are not.

“We want to reassure our customers that Spice Merchant is not going to move out of Henley.”

It is not known what will happen to the Thames Side premises, which have not been put on the market.