Bath House Bistro: Preston restaurant entrepreneur Mark O'Rourke announces name of new restaurant in the Miller Arcade - and when it will open

The most popular linked to the 19th century arcade’s colourful history and characters, with several suggestions connected to the architect Edwin Bush or to Nathaniel Miller, the investor who built the Miller arcade which was Preston’s first indoor shopping centre.

Now, after much consideration, Mark has decided to call his latest venture Bath House Bistro, inspired by the popular Turkish bath which was once located in the arcade’s basement, and revealed it will open towards the end of June.

Mark O’Rourke, who owns restaurants in Preston including Fino Tapas, said “The Bath House idea stood out from the rest, as it was a little quirky and unexpected. We’re really delighted by the name, which is sure to stimulate interest and conversations with our future customers.

“The purpose of Turkish baths was to bring people together, for wellbeing and relaxation and that is our hope for Bath House Bistro. The restaurant will fuse the historic with the contemporary, in a British bistro offering a reliably indulgent experience.”

“We’re excited now to work on the logo and put the finishing touches on the restaurant, which should be open by the end of June.”

The reference to a ‘bath house’ featured in the suggestions of five people who entered.

All five suggestions were then ‘put in the hat’ and the lucky winner, selected at random was Luke Unsworth from Fulwood who will be able to dine out, once a month for a year, in the restaurant he helped to name.

In his suggestion Luke explained his choice of name by saying “A bath house is a place to take care of the body and soul while meeting old and new friends.”

The four people who also submitted names related to the Turkish Bath will each receive a runners-up voucher for £100 which they can use in the Bath House Bistro.

The Miller Arcade was built in a similar way to New York skyscrapers and actually inspired by the famous Burlington Arcade in London, with entrances off Lancaster Road, Church Street, Birley Street and Jacson Street.

Street food restaurant Mowgli is also due to open in the former French Connection store site at Miller Arcade in June.