A THRIVING family-owned Darwen takeaway, restaurant and bar business is to continue its expansion when an American diner opens next week.

Bosses at The Godfather, which opened in 1990, will open Papa’s American Diner in the adjacent property, formerly AudioTec, which has moved to new premises in Marsh House Lane.

Five years ago, The Godfather restaurant opened next door to the takeaway and in 2013 the Amalfi Lounge cocktail bar was opened.

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Following the expansion, The Amalfi restaurant will span across the top floor of all three buildings, with the bar to the left of the takeaway and the new diner on the right.

Keyvan Fani Jnr, whose namesake father established and still runs the original business, said it was an exciting new development for the town.

He said: “It will be a proper American diner with burgers on brioche buns, various mac and cheeses, milkshakes, cakes, ice creams and beers from all over America.

“This is definitely a first for Darwen and I think it fills a real gap in the market.

“We are also considering opening in the day as we believe there is a good lunchtime trade in Darwen and we would like a slice of that.”

Mr Fani said at least five jobs had been created during the development, which would be completed in time for the Amalfi Lounge restaurant to reopen tomorrow with a view to opening the diner on Monday or Tuesday. Once work is completed on the diner and Amalfi extension, Mr Fani will focus on the development of the former HSBC bank into the family’s latest venture, The Vault, a gastropub serving pasta and pizza.

He said: “We want to be open in May in time for Darwen Live as that is a key time.

“We will have a late licence until 3am and we have a dancefloor and a vault downstairs people will be able to hire out.

“There will also be a pizza collection at the back called Eddie’s, named after my grandad.”

Mr Fani added it was great to have such a thriving family business.

He said: “We are a big family and it is really good that we can all work together.

“Each of us now has our own little business to run which works really well and is how we always wanted it to be.”

n Now in its 16th year, Darwen Live has become a popular event on the local music festival circuit. This year it will be held on May 24 and 25.

The free festival features an outdoor stage in the centre of Darwen. There is something for everyone and music from every genre. The event showcases local talent, as well as better known, headline acts.

As well as the main stage, the festival is supported by a host of other venues such as Darwen Library Theatre and local pubs staging live music events.