POPULAR cheese and wine bar, Renoufs, will be opening in Poole tonight. 

Renoufs Cheese and Wine Bar is set to open its doors for the first time at its new location in Poole's Old Town tonight, Friday, October 1.

The new restaurant will be Dorset-grown Renoufs ninth location and owner Trevor Ayling and his team have spent the last eight weeks converting the Grade II listed building.

Trevor said: "I'm really excited and I think it's the right time to open here.

"There's lots of new venues opening around here - it got a Soho, Covent Garden feel to it when you're walking along the street on a busy weekend." 

Having taken over the old Pizza Express premises, Trevor and his team have worked tirelessly to bring a new lease of life to the venue - stripping the exterior back to the bones and starting again. 

Bournemouth Echo:

Renoufs Cheese and Wine Bar in Poole's Old Town

Built in wine ranks, goblets of corks and hanging lights surround the seating spaces throughout the restaurant. 

The toilets have both been re-done and the courtyard garden is nearly complete for alfresco dining. 

Opening a new restaurant has its challenges at the best of times, let alone in the midst of supply chain issues caused by the pandemic and Brexit that have knocked the whole country.  

Sourcing fridges and furniture was one of the main challenges for Renoufs as it had set itself an eight week window to open. 

Trevor, who owns nine Renoufs venues across the region, said: "Setting up has taken around eight weeks - our regular supplied had three to six month waiting lists so we've dealt directly with international vineyards and cheese makers.

"We've slowly been stock piling our produce - we have around 8,000 bottles of wine so we shouldn't run out this side of Christmas!" 

Bournemouth Echo:

Trevor Ayling, owner of Renoufs

After a long 18-months battling the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the hospitality industry, there is finally 'light at the end of the tunnel' for cheese and wine group Renoufs. 

Trevor said: "We're fully booked for the next three weekends across all of our venues and Christmas is already looking busy.

"It's really starting to get back to life pre-pandemic - that's how it feels.

"There really is light at the end of the tunnel."