A NEW rock and blues bar is to open in Blackburn town centre.

Husband and wife Andy and Karen Joss will open their new business, The Rock Box, tonight.

The new bar in King William Street, Blackburn, will take the place of the former Tiki Monkey bar, which closed two weeks ago.

The Rock Box will specialise in classic rock and blues music.

The pair, who have been married for 27 years and been in the pub trade since 2005 and have run several public houses including the Moorgate Arms and the Stop and Rest.

Mr Joss, 51, said they wanted to run a business in the town centre and bring something new to it.

He said: “We are both massive classic rock fans and the only other real place that plays that sort of music is the Sir Charles Napier pub, but there’s no bars like this.

“It’s a different sort of environment to the other bars so we feel we are bringing a nice new option to the town centre.

“We want to be an option for customers who don’t like sitting in cocktail bars and listing to dance music, you can come here, listen to classic rock or blues music and have a great time with your friends.”

The bar will hold around 65 people and has created three jobs.

There will be a variety of keg beers and eventually cask ales to drink.

Bottles, spirits and tea and coffee will also be available.

The new bar will sit alongside The Drummer’s Arms in King William Street, complementing Mushies and other bars that have opened up in the town centre in the past two years.

Luxury dessert bar Haute Dolci is also set to open in the New Year at the former El Greco coffee bar in the historic listed Waterloo Pavilions in Church street.

Mrs Joss, 55, said: “We are big fans of Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, AC/DC and Joe Bonamassa and have always wanted to open a bar to share our love for this genre of music.

“Smaller, snug places are becoming increasingly popular nowadays and we feel we have a really niche place for customers.

“We don’t just want Blackburn drinkers, we want to attract people from out of town to come down and help boost the economy of the town centre.”

The bar will have a soft opening tonight at 4pm and will officially open on Thursday at noon.