Casa Whitehaven to open in former Casa a Roma restaurant building

Casa Whitehaven will open on Queen Street in the former Casa a Roma building, which closed suddenly earlier this year – leaving the town without an Italian restaurant.

The premises have now been taken over by Luke Johnston and Robert MacMillan, who own The Pour House tapas bar and restaurant on Lowther Street. They are joined by Luke’s best friend, Dean Hodgson, in their latest business venture.

Luke said: “We’ve taken over, completely re-branded and got new staff. It will be good quality Italian food. It’s had a complete refurbishment.

“I can’t emphasise enough, this is my hometown. I’ve had a business in the town since I was 14. I’ve got massive belief in this town. I really want to make a go of it.

“Myself and Robert bought what was La Venue and turned it into The Pour House 14 months ago.

“As a whole, the food offering in Whitehaven is very good quality. You’ve got some good places but we want to offer a bit more choice. Hopefully, the more offering, the more people we can get into town.”

The new restaurant will offer classic Italian food with freshly made pizzas and pasta, risotto, seafood and steak. There will also be gluten-free options with handmade gluten free pizza bases.

Italian restaurant Casa a Roma closed suddenly in March but the building will soon be given a new lease of life (Image: Newsquest)

Luke added: “I used to go to Casa a Roma quite a lot. I used to love their food. Since it shut, I think there has been less choice. We want to provide good quality Italian food, amazing service and a good atmosphere. Somewhere that you can go for a celebration or a casual meal and it caters for everyone.”

The restaurant is expected to open in October but an opening date is yet to be finalised.