THE owner of popular Kendal pub Romneys has bought Paulo Giannis, the town's long-established pizza and pasta restaurant.

Businessman Richard Berry paid an undisclosed sum to owners John and Paul Wormall for the Stramongate eatery, a favourite among many Kendalians for its 5.30pm happy hour menu.

The Italian-themed restaurant and its neighbouring bar, The Townhouse, will be closed to customers until January 2019 for a major refurbishment, said James Heap, general manager of Romneys.

Costing upwards of £100,000, the refit will see the business rebranded as Little Italy after the iconic neighbourhood in New York's Manhattan.

An Italian pizza oven costing £25,000 and weighing 1.8 tonnes has been ordered and the kitchen is to be given a complete overhaul, said Mr Heap.

All 15 kitchen and waiting-on staff have been redeployed at Romneys, on Milnthorpe Road, while the 70-cover restaurant is revamped.

In July this year food hygiene inspectors gave Paulo Giannis in Kendal a rating of "2 - improvement necessary". The maximum possible score is 5.

Diners posting reviews on travel website TripAdvisor rated the venue #43 out of 119 Kendal restaurants and gave it an average 4/5 score.

"Really it's a case of bringing Giannis back to what it was," said Mr Heap, 39, of Kendal.

"I think it's got a place in Kendal's heart but we are bringing it back and lifting it up to what it should be.

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"It's there in the hearts and minds of Kendal folk and it will be great for Kendal and create a little bit of a hub with the Masons Arms and The Gate and the Thai place just up the road. It's helping lift Kendal and supporting the town centre."

Mr Heap said Little Italy would offer "a new concept" very different from Romneys with its popular four-meat roast carvery. He did not want to reveal further details just yet.

Kendal architectural technologist Martin Boyd is working on the project, and local tradesman are to be employed. They will include builders from The Burnside Hotel at Bowness, owned by Romney's proprietor Mr Berry. The Kendal businessman has spent millions of pounds on the four-star Lake District hotel and spa. In another new venture, he is building a gastropub in Carlisle called The Horse and Farrier, along similar lines to Romneys.