BOSSES at a Boscombe restaurant have announced their decision to close it at the end of the month.

Directors of vegetarian Indian restaurant Baboo Ji said closing the venue was not a move they took lightly.

However, they said it was seen as the best direction for the business after the comparative success of their other restaurant in Southampton.

Harry Kimberley, director of Baboo Ji, said: “The Southampton restaurant does really really well, it’s a lot smaller and more open plan which is more accessible for what we do as a business and before we opened one in Bournemouth the building had a lot of sentimentality to us.”

Bournemouth Echo: Harry KimberleyHarry Kimberley (Image: Harry Kimberley)

Mr Kimberley used to work in the current building in Christchurch Road back in 2009 alongside the creator of Baboo Ji, Jay Hampton, at Koh Thai.

On the building as whole, Mr Kimberley said it was "amazing" but not quite suited to what the business needed, but he said Baboo Ji will be back.

He added: “We’ve been looking for a new location for a few months now – we actually thought there’d be more spaces available, but we just need to be in a position where the building is more accessible, closer to our clientele and we can put them on things like Deliveroo and Uber.”

On the return of Baboo Ji to Bournemouth, Mr Kimberley said: “We’re very lucky in the sense that 95 per cent of our customers love it, and for a restaurant that’s such a high number so that, and the fact that our Southampton restaurant does so well, it fills us with a lot of hope for the future.

“We’re very lucky that we’ve had a lot of loyal support, it was so nice to receive all our positive comments and messages, it was overwhelming and very sweet.

“We’re looking forward to coming back.”

The restaurant’s last day at the Christchurch Road site is April 1. Plans are in place for a special night where customers and staff can have a party with one another, treating it more as a celebration than a goodbye.