A well-known former French restaurant is to be given a new lease of life by an ex-marine.
The Beaujolais at Chapel Row is to be reborn as a Spanish tapas restaurant.
The Madrid Spanish Tapas restaurant is being opened by chef Alex Grant-Brugada, 34, and his wife Mihaela , 35.
Mr Grant-Brugada was once sous-chef at the Beaujolais and has since run the Minibar in John Street and La Perla at North Parade.
Mr Grant-Brugada was front-of-house manager for the Minibar and La Perla and is a trained barman, having worked for many years on Caribbean cruise liners, as well as a qualified sommelier.
The Beaujolais, run by Jean-Pierre and Carey Auge, closed in January.
Mr Grant-Brugada said: "I worked for Jean-Pierre and Carey for nine months about eight years ago and then I started doing my own thing. I knew the Beaujolais was on the market and I know the area and I think it is one of the best areas for restaurants in Bath."
Mr Grant-Brugada was brought up and educated in Spain and served with the Royal Marines in Northern Ireland and the Gulf.
After leaving the marines, he enlisted at the Salvador Gallego School of Gastronomy in Madrid and completed the two-year full-time diploma course in restaurant management, specialising as a chef. Before returning to the UK he worked in two Michelin-starred restaurants in Spain.
At the weekend, before the keys were handed over to the new owners, the Careys held a yard sale, where members of the public could buy glasses, artwork, menus, furniture and signs from the French restaurant as a memento.
Daughter Lucy, 19, said: "It is sad because it's the end of an era.
"I've spent almost every single day of my life here and now we can't come back."
The new restaurant is due to open on July 15.
