A NEW boutique Thai restaurant is set to replace Café Rouge in March of this year.

Nusara will be the 22nd restaurant under Andy Lennox’s franchise, Fired Up.

The venue will offer Thai-inspired dishes paired with an array of cocktails to choose from.

Andy, who is also the vice chair of the Destination Management Board, said: “I've been trying to get a site in Westbourne for probably about 15 years.

“We've been working on this deal for nearly nine months and it’s a perfect site for us.

The entrepreneur 'who loves Westbourne' added: “What we try to do is invest in essential market towns.

“Whilst Westbourne might be in Bournemouth, it's got its very own identity and it's bustling, it's affluent, it's got soul.

“That's what we want to invest into, basically places with their kind of village atmosphere.”

Described as a ‘Haven for Thai lovers’, Nusara has multiple branches across Dorset including Poole, Wimborne, and Christchurch.

The inspiration for the restaurant chain came from a chef that Andy worked with.

He said: “The first ever Thai chef I employed 15 years ago is a lady called Nusara.

“She and her husband are like the executive chef team.

“When Koh Thai went into administration back in 2020, they both came back to me and together we came up with a new Thai brand that is all about family.

“Ultimately, it's the old team back together. It's my old Thai family.”

The restaurant was also given a £250,000 investment loan from the FSE Group.

Speaking on the loan, Andy added: “It's nigh on impossible to get structured debt finance.

“So for us, it's a really big kind of key markstone for us to be backed by a fund.

“It's still a traditional loan, but it's South West Investment Fund, which is essentially government-backed in one way or another.

"The rest of the company being kind of funded through ourselves so it's quite nice to be able to finally put that kind of marker in the sand.

"We're really excited about it."

Nusara will be opening on 67 Seamoor Road in Westbourne later this year.

Café Rouge closed its doors to customers on December 17.