State & Main Kitchen and Bar has yet to serve its first meal, but the Easthill Centre restaurant has already undergone an expansion.

Trevor Rowden, one of the partners behind the project, said on Thursday that the business’s footprint has increased to about 5,000 square feet. That will accommodate a restaurant with 72 seats, up from the 48 previously proposed, as well as an 80-seat lounge.

Rowden expects the business, which is being developed in the former Blockbuster store, to open by mid- to late August.

He and his partners operate the Original Joe’s Restaurant and Bar in downtown Red Deer. That brand and the State & Main concept both belong to the FranWorks Group of Companies out of Calgary.

State & Main Kitchen and Bar is a new franchise that Rowden described as being “more upscale” than Original Joe’s. Because it will have a separate restaurant and lounge in Red Deer, diners of all ages will be allowed in — as compared with the local Original Joe’s, which restricts admission to customers 18 or older.

Hours of operation are expected to be 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., seven days a week.