A RESTAURANT empire is set to create 60 jobs when it opens its latest £2.5million venue on the river-front in autumn.

Elysium Group bought the run-down River Lodge pub in Middleborough in 2012 and has been working to transform it into a bar and restaurant, which will be called Pavilion.

It got planning permission to build the restaurant along with a 43-bed hotel in November 2014 but have no plans to build the hotel.

The group opened Qube in Crouch Street in 2008, Mimosa on Colchester Business Park in 2010 and Hudson Bar in Head Street in 2014.

A total of 40 full-time and 20 part-time jobs will be created at Pavilion, which the company has described as a boutique restaurant with a terrace facing onto the River Colne.

The venue will serve meals from breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner and the menu will be seafood focused.

A ‘raw bar’ will serve sushi, sashimi and seafood platters.

Shirin Nia, business development manager for Elysium, said: “This is definitely our biggest project so far.

“The River Lodge area doesn’t have anything similar to this but hopefully this will encourage other people to do the same to create an attractive area.

“We have operated at the River Lodge since 2012 and it’s got so much potential. It’s quite a unique building.

“Nothing has been confirmed yet but we are hoping to have an outdoor seating area to make the most of the river-front.”

She added: “Colchester is where we have been based right from the beginning.

“We have seen exponential growth over the last two years and we are looking for bigger venues for the future.

“We are always looking for opportunities to drive the town forwards and create a more premium place to visit.”

Elysium Group applied for planning permission to add a ground floor extension of the restaurant to the adjoining the listed building on the site in December 2015.

The plans have not yet been considered by the planning committee.