A NEW £25,000 cask ale bar looks set to open its doors in a town centre.

It is hoped the bar will be open by the end of October and will be housed in an empty shop in Duckworth Street, Darwen.

The bar will offer a variety of real ales, gins and wines and premium German Lager.

Businesswoman Eva Benesova, who runs micro cask bar ‘The Thirsty Fish’, in Bury with her brother and his business partner, is behind the new project and said she hopes to work closely with independent breweries in the area.

Ms Benesova, 28, said the business in Darwen would be similar to the one in Bury.

She said: “The cask ale bar in Bury has been nominated for pub of the year 2018.

“I’m hoping to have the Darwen bar open by the end of October and it will specialise in real ale.

“ I’m currently in the process of changing the licence in the building.

“We’ll be based in an empty shop in Darwen town centre and will be leasing the building out from an agent.”

It is hoped the 60-seater bar will create one or two full-time jobs.

The bar could open from 10am or 11am to 10pm on the weekdays and Sunday and until as late as 12.30am on a Friday and Saturday.

Ms Benesova, who is from Prestwich, said: “I’m hoping to copy what we’ve got with the bar in Bury.

“I want this bar to have a wooden, old fashioned, quirky feel to it.

“The aim is to bring something different to Darwen that it doesn’t already have.

“The market for these types of bars is growing and I want to tap into this.

“Darwen has a vibrant nightlife which is great for younger people but we’re hoping this will be something for an older crowd to enjoy where they can listen to live music on a weekend.”

It comes as ‘Caskbar’ set up its stall in Darwen market earlier this year, offering real ale and speciality gins for connoisseurs and traditional pub enthusiasts.