Preston's only Egyptian restaurant up for sale in building with a tragic past

Egyptian restaurant Lola is up for saleEgyptian restaurant Lola is up for sale
Egyptian restaurant Lola is up for sale
Preston's only Egyptian restaurant has been put up for sale.

Lola on London Road is on the market after five years serving diners in a former pub building with a tragic past.

Agents say the business is profitable and the “for sale” signs have only gone up “due to our client’s wishes to spend more time with family.”

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Lola was opened by Walaa Hassan in 2013, in the former Greyhound pub.

The old Boddington’s house was the scene of a disaster in November 1960 when two walls collapsed during improvement work, killing three customers andthe landlord’s wife.

The tragedy later took on national significance because it prompted a change in the drinking laws which, until that time, decreed pubs must remain open during alterations or forfeit their licence.

Workmen had been removing the roof and upper floors when the collapse happened just before closing time at 3pm on a Wedensday afternoon.

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Drinkers Fred Lawrenson, Henry Marsden and William Berry, together with landlady Eithne Ratcliffe, were killed. The only other customer in the pub survived with minor injuries.

Much of the Greyhound was later demolished and rebuilt. It continued to serve beer until 2012 when it closed as a pub.

Lola has since been serving authentic Egyptian food, together with vegetarian and vegan menus.

According to the agent Hilton Smythe, the 30-plus cover restaurant has built up an “outstanding reputation for offering a fine dining experience.”

The leasehold price is a fiver short of £55,000.

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