A NEW restaurant with a blow dry bar has opened in Southampton.

The Oxford Street site once occupied by Mexican eatery Chimichanga has been turned into a cocktail bar, restaurant and blow dry bar.

It comes as licensing bosses in the city granted a new licence to the venue which will open at 5pm this afternoon.

Called Rita’s, the site is expected to create a total of 27 jobs.

Owner Nicky Sargent, who has run hair salons across Southampton over the past decade, will be running the new venue with her husband Richard.

She said: “We wanted to bring something completely different to Southampton, a London vibe to Southampton. I just want people to enjoy the venue as a whole. It was great to see that the council supported it.”

The blow dry bar is expected to open later in the summer.

Once open, customers will be able to have nail and hair treatment, get changed for a night out while sipping a drink or having a brunch or afternoon tea.

The restaurant will mainly serve Mediterranean food and live music events are expected to be held on weekends.

“I am very excited about it, I am tired but I can’t wait. It has been an exciting journey”, Mrs Sargent added.

The venue will open Wednesday to Sunday from 11am to midnight.

When asked about whether she is worried about the impact of the pandemic on businesses, Mrs Sargent said: “Oxford Street has been heaving.

"I would like to think that we are not going to go into another lockdown.

"If it ends up happening I am sure we can overcome that.

"We are creating jobs and hopefully we would be able to create even more jobs once we get even busier.”

Mrs Sargent said the venue is named after her grandmother.

“It is just to remember her,” she added.

The decision to grant the licence was taken by the licensing sub-committee at Southampton City Council last week.