TAPAS has returned to Slaithwaite.
Casa Colina on Kiln Hill has opened to the public for the first time.
And Kara Brown, 27, hopes to build on the success of former tapas restaurant Endogans, which closed three months ago when the owners emigrated to France.
“We’ll be serving little morsels of Mediterranean food, very similar to what Endogans used to do but with a few little twists and some new dishes to make it our own,” she said.
“It worked for Endogans and we didn’t see any reason to fix something that wasn’t broken.”
Kara, who lives at Hill Top, is looking forward to taking charge of her first restaurant with the help of her parents Paul and Linda Bastow.
“I can’t wait,” she said.
“I’ve always been around kitchens. My dad has been in catering since before I was born.
“My grandparents had pubs when I was very small and I’ve worked in pubs and cafes. It’s in my blood.”
Kara, whose former employers include the cafe in Peters department store, is no stranger to tapas. “We used to go to Spain two or three times a year from when I was four or five years old,” she said.
The name Casa Colina – House on the Hill – takes its inspiration from the street on which the new restaurant stands.
Kara explained: “I wanted to name the restaurant after Kiln Hill, but the Spanish for Kiln is ‘horno’. I didn’t want that in the title! I went for ‘Casa Colina’ instead.”
The restaurant will open from 6pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with the last sitting at 9pm.
Like Endogans, Casa Colina is unlicensed but customers are free to bring their own alcohol.
The new restaurant has room for 34 customers, but Kara hopes to expand.
“We’ve given it a bit of a facelift inside and we have plans in the pipeline to open up the upstairs area,” she said.
For more information about Casa Colina call 01484 846451.
