A BASINGSTOKE restaurant has reopened following a £150,000 refurbishment.

Wimpy in Festival Place was back open for business yesterday.

It has become the first Wimpy branch nationwide to introduce USB charging points.

Franchisee Charlie Bhangal invested around £150,000 in adopting Wimpy UK’s new Shift Design, which builds on the brand’s strong heritage and much-loved traditions.

The 100-seater restaurant, in the town’s Festival Place Shopping Centre, now features bright new colours, with booths and benches and a new-look outside seating area.

A streamlined till system has also been introduced to help speed up ordering times, while energy efficient lighting helps improve the restaurant’s sustainability credentials.

Charlie said: “We’re thrilled to introduce the new-look Wimpy to Basingstoke and very proud to be the first of our restaurants to install USB charging points at some of our booths. We think this will be a real benefit, making it even easier for people to pop in for one of our fabulous burgers or coffees and stay in touch with friends or colleagues at the same time.

“We know our customers have really missed us during the refurbishment programme, we thank them for their patience and can’t wait to welcome them back."

Simon Noble, Wimpy UK’s operations manager, said: “We’re delighted with all the improvements that Charlie has been making. He has a great team on board and we’re sure that all his customers will be impressed.”

Wimpy Basingstoke provides a full table service menu as well as a takeaway counter, and it has also teamed up with Deliveroo and Uber to offer a home delivery service.

Social media users reacted in joy to the news of the restaurant's reopening. One woman wrote: "Seating looks great, looking forward to visiting."

While another said: "Good to see they are still going when others have crumbled on the high street."