The restaurant chain ‘Loungers’, which has more than 120 branches, has opened another site in south Wales. Chepstow was rated ‘worst high street in Wales in 2022 and has seen a serious decline in businesses, that is until recently.

Three new cafe’s and restaurants have opened in the past few weeks, and locals hope it will be the catalyst for the town to bounce back to life. Alongside the new Pontio Lounge, Coffee Addiction has opened its doors in the high street as well as something totally new to the area, a plant-based sushi and noodle bar, Hikari.

Eleri Farish, a customer in Pontio, said: “It’s a different atmosphere in here because you can have a nice cocktail or you can just catch up with friends.”

A small crowd turned out for the opening of the Lounge, which was fully booked for the first week after opening and has remained busy since, often with no space to take walk-ins. The restaurant has a capacity of 110 people, which makes it the second biggest venue in Chepstow. The aesthetic is vintage which matches the style of the building, which was the department store Herbert Lewis for more than 140 years, an integral part of Chepstow. The building has been empty since the shop closed in 2018.

Locals are very grateful to see the building being used again. Anne Spooner said: “Herbert Lewis was such a lovely place and always so busy, many were so upset to see it closed and sit vacant. I myself was so happy to see anything take its place, but how lucky are we to have a Lounge now!”. Another local resident said: “It’s given life back to Chepstow”.