Quirky coffee bar Loungers is to open a new coffee shop in Solihull town centre.
The chain will transform the former Stead & Simpson shoe shop in High Street into one of its flamboyant coffee shops after getting planning permission.
Bristol-based company Loungers Ltd calls its cafes 'Lounges'.
It already operates 85 sites nationwide with unique names, including the Desco Lounge at the nearby Parkgate Shopping Centre in Shirley
The sites are billed as “informal, neighbourhood food led cafe/bars which open all-day everyday where families, friends, and locals can come for a coffee, a drink, or something to eat in a relaxed comfortable environment.
“The interiors are comfortable, inviting, and a bit eccentric”.
Typically open from 9am-11pm, other sites in Birmingham include Arco Lounge, Harborne; Loco Lounge, Kings Heath; Quinto Lounge, Sutton Coldfield; Renato Lounge, Mere Green and Verdo Lounge, Mere Green.
According to the planning application, the hours of opening in Solihull High Street could be from 8am until 11.30pm Sunday to Wednesday and from 8am to 12.30am from Thursday to Saturday.
Planning permission was granted on the grounds that included “the reuse of a vacant unit for which there is no demand for retail purposes” and “as a significant investment into the area”.
It’s the latest cafe to set its sights on Solihull after Boston Tea Party said it was moving into the former pub Ebb & Flow pub in the town.
Loungers' menus typically includes an extensive brunch list, burgers, tapas and restaurant specials.
Lattes and cappuccinos are currently priced at £2.30 and £2.60 and draught pints of ale are £4.05.
The cafes include board games, daily newspapers, free Wi-Fi, highchairs, a book swap facility and what some might call chintzy decor.
Children are called Little Loungers and there’s always colourings pads and pencils available as well as the opportunity to have food and drink heated by staff.
The company website also details its current muzak playlist, which currently includes Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out of My Head, Lou Rawls’ Bring it On Home and Constant Craving by KD Lang.
If you download the ‘Secret DJ’ app you can control what is played.
Cafe style
Many Lounges feature artwork similar to the ubiquitous Chinese Girl by the late Russian artist Vladimir Tretchikoff.
The original 1950s painting of a then 17-year-old Cape Town laundry worker called Monika Sing-Lee was once described as “the Mona Lisa of kitsch”.
A reproduction version was given a prominent position when Wylde Green’s Verdo Lounge opened.
When Marston's Ebb & Flow pub cafe was launched on Herbert Road, Solihull as a rival to Lounges two years ago, it used the same Chinese Girl picture.
But while Loungers goes from strength to strength, the Ebb & Flow closed earlier this year and will be replaced by Boston Tea Party later this year.
Other developments in Solihull
Carluccio’s opened at the St Alphege Church / High Street end of Mell Square earlier this year.
The main JD Wetherspoon in Poplar Road is currently being refurbished.
And the Indian Burrito company Wrapchic will shortly open at 28 High Street.
That site is next to Starbucks in a unit that was formerly a shabby-chic Betel charity furniture shop.
Other local cafes on the Station Road end of High Street include Pret A Manger, Caffe Nero and McDonald's.
