The new owners of a County Durham venue which recently announced its closure have revealed detailed plans for an "upmarket" cocktail bar at the destination which will open this month.

Owners of The Ranch Meat House in Seaham last week (January 2) announced the main building of the venue had closed - but in turn, teased a re-vamp of part of the building by new owners.

The statement read: "The Ranch would like to thank all its customers over the years but unfortunately we’ve made the decision to close the doors for the last time.

"The main building will be turned into something else, however, the function room on the side will remain open for bookings and is being taken over by an experienced operator who is going to put their own touch on things and improve it."

Now, the new venture, comprised of the wooden extension to the left of the main building, will be known as The Printworks Cocktail & Bar Lounge and open on January 19.

Adam Thompson is one of the new owners of the site and operates a bar under the same name in Killingworth, as he now has hopes the new Seaham bar will be a hive of activity. 

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"We are hoping to hire acoustic singers and make the live music quite low-key and use as many local artists as possible," Adam said.

"In terms of what we're doing now, we're putting our own touch on things. New draught beers, a new range of spirits and over 45 cocktails on the menu."

The new Printworks bar will not be a part of the main building that used to house The Ranch, and plans for its future use have not yet been revealed.