An empty high street shop could be filled with a trendy bar providing leisurely dining and all-day alcohol.

Plans reveal the former M&Co outlet in Deal High Street may be turned into a Lounge branch, just a month after it closed its doors for the final time.

The large glass-fronted shop was one of three stores that fell victim to the fashion retailer’s slide into administration in April, alongside fixtures in Tenterden and Faversham.

However, signs have now gone up in the windows in Deal announcing an licensing applicationsubmitted by bar-come-cafe company Lounge.

The application is for permission to serve alcohol between the hours of 10am and midnight both on and off the premises, and further to serve “late night refreshment” between 11.30pm and 12.30am.

Assuming plans go ahead, it would be only the second outlet that the company has opened in Kent – the other being the Sentado Lounge in Sittingbourne.

It became the first eatery to open in the town’s new leisure quater in October 2020.

KentOnline sent reporter Megan Carr to the eatery to see what the fuss was about – you can read about how she got on here.

Lounge is owned by parent company Loungers – which also runs more the more formal Cosy Club brand, which has an outlet in Canterbury.

According to the Loungers website, Lounge is “a neighbourhood café/bar combining elements of a restaurant, British pub and coffee shop culture”.

It adds: “Lounges are principally located in secondary suburban high streets and small town centres. The sites are characterised by informal, unique interiors with an emphasis on a warm, comfortable atmosphere, often described as a ‘home-from-home’.

“The Lounge estate has a consistent look and feel but each Lounge is individually named and tailored to the site and local area, and the design of each Lounge is continually evolving, meaning no two sites are the same.”