A curryhouse is set to reopen as a pan-Asian restaurant and lounge bar following a refurb.
Sharif Uddin, 39, operations manager of food chain Kushi, said the Gidea Park branch is set to reopen on 168A Main Road between April 22 and 26.
Kushi, which has another branch in Lakeside shopping centre, Thurrock, had shut for renovation works on Mother's Day (March 10).
Upon re-opening, the 39-year-old said Kushi will no longer be an "average curryhouse", but will offer pan-Asian cuisine, including chicken tikka sushi.
Sharif claimed the Bengali twist on the Japanese staple had been a hit at the Lakeside branch, and urged people in Gidea Park to give it a try.
"Give it a go," Sharif said. "We want to give locals something to rave about and a new place they can go on weekends and special occasions.
"It's not going to be your average Joe curry house," he added.
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Kushi is aiming to operate from 5pm to 10pm from Monday to Wednesday, Sharif said, and from 5pm to 11pm on Thursday.
It will be a late night venue on Friday and Saturday, open from 5pm to 1am on the former and 12pm to 1am the latter. On Sunday Kushi will operate from midday to 11pm.
Sharif said the recession had curbed people's spending habits, but stated that his business was looking to provide affordable food.
"We can feel that people are not spending as much, so if we're able to give something back to the community [...] we're up for that."
The operations manager said Kushi is looking for ten front of house employees, including hosts and mixologists, before its April reopening.
Sharif said he was keen to hire people in Gidea Park for his establishment which seeks to replicate central London's lounge bars where people can eat, drink and enjoy a night out in one.
He also claimed that Kushi's lunches would be "very affordable", primarily its Sunday roasts.
"Lunches are very affordable," he said. "We'll do a Sunday roast at £14.95 to £15.95, that's your average pub lunch [price].
"[We'll provide] something that's not breaking your bank balance - we want to be able to achieve that," he added.
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