Work on the new hotel is set to begin in January
Baz Miah has announced that he is opening a new hotel on Lark Lane(Image: Liverpool Echo)
A Liverpool businessman says he wants to open Lark Lane’s first hotel. Poras Miah, 45, or Baz as he’s better known by friends and family, has made Lark Lane something of a second home after working in the area for the last 25 years.
After being taken under his dad’s wing when he opened the Red Fort restaurant in 2000, bit by bit Baz learned the skills of the trade and in 2020 re-opened the Lark Lane restaurant under his leadership, renaming it the Taj. Baz has been eager not rest on his laurels, prompting him to submit a planning application to transform the two floors above the restaurant into a new hotel.
After seeing a rapid increase in the lane’s popularity, with thousands descending on the south Liverpool neighbourhood every weekend, he felt that there was a significant gap in the market.
Baz took over the running of the business in 2020(Image: Liverpool Echo)
He told the ECHO: “Lark Lane is a very famous street, it’s got lots of very famous restaurants, bars and pubs, it attracts visitors from all over the country and internationally as well. Being on Lark Lane for years at the Taj, we decided that one thing that was missing was that there was nowhere to stay [overnight] on the lane, so that’s when we started thinking about using the upper floors of [the restaurant] as a hotel.”
He added: “For a while we’d been thinking that Lark Lane doesn’t really have [a place for people to stay overnight], especially when there are events happening in the park, there are always people looking for places close to stay near Lark Lane and we were getting loads of visitors at the restaurant from all over the UK and they always say ‘oh there’s nowhere to stay on Lark Lane’ that’s when we thought ‘do you know what, it would be a good idea to turn the upper two floors into a small scale hotel.”
With work on the new hotel set to get underway next month, Baz said the plan is for guests to be welcomed halfway through 2026.
He said that it is an extremely proud moment for him and his family(Image: Liverpool Echo)
While the finishing touches on the hotel’s design are still being made, Baz gave a glimpse into what guests might be able to expect. He said: “We are looking for a more modern type of design, it will be a boutique hotel as people say. The hotel is going to be a small independent boutique hotel.”
He added: “Our hotel is going to have a more homely feel, so there will be someone there [at the entrance] to greet people inside and we will provide lots of information about Lark Lane and the nightlife and restaurants [here], which I think will help all businesses here, not only the Taj or the hotel.”
With emphasis on his intention to keep the hotel in keeping with the independent feel of Lark Lane’s many venues, Baz said that he is hoping that his new venture will help see the lane continue to flourish for years to come.
He said: “I think it’ll fit in as one of the many independent restaurants, bars and pubs. It will be great for Liverpool and the local economy, it will generate more revenue for the city council and businesses locally because we will be using local laundrettes and cleaners.”
The hotel will sit above the Taj restaurant (Image: Liverpool Echo)
Baz has entrusted two local firms to help bring his idea to life. He said: “We’ve used a local architect, Brian McAnoy and we use planning consultants, Landor Planning, so we work with them closely, they’re local businesses and we’ve worked with them to secure the planning permission from the council.
“We are very happy, being on the lane and having been here for more than 20 years as the first Indian restaurant and now the first hotel on Lark Lane that makes us very happy as a family.”