A WESTON businessman has pledged to revamp a former bar into a family restaurant to give the venue a ‘fresh start’.

Paul Brown, who has managed Auto Wholesale for 20 years, has decided to take on a new project at the former Meadow Street nightspot and turn it into a family business.

Hotshotz was shut down in 2011 after licensing authorities heard it had become popular with drug dealers. An assault which left a man in a coma also took place there.

Former owners Kashira and Wendy Johal battled to reopen the watering hole, but their attempts were blocked by police after officers submitted a raft of documents which revealed the number of incidents in a 50-metre radius around the town centre bar had dropped 60 per cent since its closure.

Paul said he is well aware of the bar’s past problems but has a plan to turn its negative image around.

He said: “Our plans include transforming it into an American diner, but this is just a provisional idea. I want to create somewhere for food and drink and make it more family orientated.

“It’s very early days at the moment but we also have plans to create a small shop or sandwich bar.”

Paul has now bought the freehold of the property and hopes to get some family members, who have experience in the catering industry, involved in the new project.

He said: “This is a chance for my family to get involved and I think the venue has a lot of potential.

“I’m well aware of its problems in the past but I want to show people that that is not the sort of operation we will be involved in.

“We want to turn this place around and give it a fresh start.

“We are getting the project moving now and getting some positive feedback and I hope residents will look forward to this change.”