The owner of a popular nightclub that was devastated by a huge fire says he is excited to be on the verge of reopening the venue – and promises a London super club vibe.

Ciaran O'Quigley had to watch 30 years of hard work go up in smoke in July last year as flames took hold of Mu Mu nightclub in Week Street, Maidstone.

Th entrepreneur admitted the blaze almost convinced him to quit but is now glad he continued and is ready to welcome clubbers back again.

He told KentOnline what club goers can expect when the club reopens on November 5 after a £4 million renovation project.

Ciaran said: "It's been a tough old time. It's three years of us being out of the business with the pandemic and the fire as well.

"We collaborated with top designers around the world, I suppose, who have been involved in famous landmarks in London, such as Ronnie Scott's jazz club or the Café de Paris.

"We decided that this was now an opportunity to really put the club on the map and go for a design that is totally unique and up there with the London super clubs.

"Having that in Kent and go for a design that is totally unique and up there with the London Super Clubs. Uh, and obviously having that intent. Is, um, is, is quite important for us because Our clientèle is not just from Kent. We get people from southeast, south, and central London.

"So, now we will have a luxurious looking club with a wow factor, which I think Maidstone and the people of Kent and surrounding areas deserve, so they don't have to go to London to get that luxurious and quirky feel."

Ciaran says the whole project, including having to rebuild parts of the building and then do a complete refit, equates to a £4m project.

"We spent £150,000 has been spent on lighting, design and sound system," he said. "So everything is really top of the range.

"It's something you'd get in Ibiza or Dubai. We will be running with the big boys as far as design, sound system and lights go."

Ciaran hopes the reopening not only marks a fresh start for his business but for Maidstone town centre as a whole.

He said: "We want to get the night-time economy of Maidstone really flourishing again because before the fire we were bringing in about 3,500 people into Maidstone town centre.

"That's going to be an important move, not just for us."

He explained how the past months had been "an emotional rollercoaster" – from seeing his business literally burn to the ground and rise from the ashes again.

"I went to a really dark place, and was prepared to throw the towel in, and give it all up," he admitted.

"But my wife then bought me a pair of boxer shorts saying 'put your big boy pants on'. So I did.

"And I literally thought there's only one way for me to go because we have 100 members of staff and a large clientèle that were relying on us.

"Every day is an emotional rollercoaster, really.

"I know it sounds a bit traumatic, but when you've gone to that dark place and you see nothing, and then you see the walls rise again, and then you see those walls being created with the most amazing art.

"It's just breathing life straight back into a building that was gone."

'This will hopefully put MuMu's straight back onto the map again and will be the flagship place that it has been for the last 30 years for the county town of Kent...'

Ciaran said he was excited for the future.

"I've got that fire back in my belly again to try and be the best.

"I don't mean that from an arrogant point of view. I mean that from when people come into our venue and spend money with us, we don't want to just be a club that just takes that money and plays music – we want to offer a show for them.

"This will hopefully put MuMu's straight back onto the map again and will be the flagship place that it has been for the last 30 years for the county town of Kent."