A decade after it opened, Cafe Lido - the beachfront restaurant at the Elbow Beach Hotel - has closed its doors.

Owned by the Little Venice Group, it served its last diners Monday evening and will re-open around Easter next year as "Lido", an upscale seafood restaurant.

Little Venice Group director Gioacchino DiMeglio said to expect more - a new nightclub is being built on-site, as well as a more casual outdoor dining venue.

To this end, much of the current building will be torn down and re-built.

Mr. DiMeglio told The Royal Gazette the current waterside dining area and bar will be taken down and replaced with a venue that can seat up to 140 diners, with views of the ocean through a "wall of glass; like a postcard".

The area behind this is also being redeveloped - including knocking out the "greenhouse" space and extending the building a further 20 feet - in to the new nightclub. Although there is no final word on the club's name - Mr. DiMeglio said three names are under consideration; Splash, Club O or 2002.

Mr. DiMeglio said the club will also be "upscale". He said the new nightspot would be both elegant and modern, and would include a stage for entertainment and two upper mezzanines - including one over a 90-foot, wall to wall bar.

Of the club's target audience, Mr. DiMeglio said the intention is to go after the 25 years and older crowd.

The club will also have a focus on catering to Elbow Beach hotel guests - although locals will also be welcomed. And Mr. DiMeglio said the project is a joint venture between the Little Venice Group and the Elbow Beach Hotel management; the Mandarin Oriental group. The outdoor terrace area is also to be re-developed in to a more casual eating area for up to 120 people, under cast iron - storm proof - gazebos. This space will serve breakfast, lunch and light fare for dinner; tapas and a raw seafood bar, he said.

A separate kitchen is being put in to the former gift shop area. The company will also continue with running Mickey's Bistro, which is directly on the beach.

He also said the redevelopment of the site would create better utilisation of the space.

When asked what prompted the decision to open a new restaurant and club, Mr. DiMeglio said it was two-fold: "We have a run-down building at the moment, and it is the company's policy to upgrade - as we have done with all of our properties over the past ten years. We believe in keeping up the standard and quality - and we want to create something new and exciting."

Mr. DiMeglio also said the company has a belief in the future of the Island's tourism industry - and this redevelopment is proof of that. And he had only praise for the hotel's new management through the Mandarin Oriental.

"We have had ups and downs with previous hotel management, but the new management has been supportive," he said.

"And we just renewed the lease (for this space) for ten years."

Meanwhile, Mr. DiMeglio said Cafe Lido's furniture and restaurant supplies are being sold off, this Saturday and Sunday, from 10.30 am through 3.30pm.

He added the staff are being absorbed in other areas of the business or will be working elsewhere.