It was once the haunt of one of the greatest writers of the straight-laced Victorian era, but now Robert Louis Stevenson's favourite pub in Edinburgh is set to be transformed into the city's latest gay bar. The old-fashioned pub will lose its historic name and be given an upmarket makeover under plans drawn up by the owner of a well-known Italian restaurant. Franco Martone, who runs Ciao Roma on South Bridge, has struck a deal to buy the pub from tycoon Kevin Doyle. The move will allow Mr Martone to expand his restaurant, while also taking over and refurbishing Rutherford's. It will become a two-storey gay nightspot, with a dancefloor in the basement. Rutherford's dates back to 1834, although its famous facade, which will remain, dates back to 1899 when it was redesigned by the revered Edinburgh architect James M Henry. Its last refurbishment is believed to have been carried out in the 1960s. The novelist Robert Louis Stevenson's fondness for Rutherford's is commemorated on a plaque outside the watering hole on Drummond Street. One source close to the plans said: "The sad fact is Rutherford's has had its day. It's a pretty run-down place these days, and gets very few customers. "What is certain is that the outside of the building will be protected for future generations to see and obviously the Stevenson plaque will remain to record his links to the area". Bob Watt, a Stevenson enthusiast who led a campaign to have the plaque erected outside Rutherford's, said: "It's still a right old haunt to this day. "Stevenson wrote quite a bit about it. I'm not sure what Stevenson would have made of the new plans for Rutherford's, because he was so fond of it. "However, it's well known that he was a tolerant sort of person and I'm sure he'd have been pretty open-minded about it." Ref: Edinburgh Evening News (m)