More than 250 new leisure jobs are being created through a raft of new bar and restaurant openings which are providing a major hospitality boost in Sunderland.

Dozens of hospitality and supply chain roles have already been created so far this year, through new arrivals including The Botanist, Manjaros and Sea Glass Cafe. More new openings are now set to take place over the coming weeks and months and, combined, city chiefs estimate the new venues will create over 250 jobs while also providing a significant economic boost to the city centre.

One of the major contributors to the recruitment is the £4m Sheepfolds Stables development, based within the restored former railway stables at Riverside Sunderland, which opens early next month following a two-year development project led by Sunderland architects Building Design Northern (BDN) Ltd. The drinking, diving and entertainment venue will provide a Wearside platform for independent bars and restaurants including Ember, Mother Mercy, The Calabash Tree, I Scream for Pizza, Spey Snug, Deep North and Vito’s Osteria, while creating more than 100 jobs and many more through the supply chain when it opens to the public on Friday, August 2.

General manager of operations, Nigel Wood,said: “It’s been a couple of years in the making; however we are all incredibly excited to finally throw open our doors to the public next month. All of our vendors are already recruiting and training their teams and at the last count, we estimated that it would create around 100 jobs.

“But that doesn’t even factor in the supply chain, such as cleaners, jobs at suppliers and security etc, which will see that number rise furthermore as we finally get up and running.”

Nigel Wood, general manager of operations at Sheepfolds Stables and Coun Kevin Johnston, Cabinet Member for Housing, Regeneration and Business at Sunderland City Council at Sheepfolds Stables.
Nigel Wood, general manager of operations at Sheepfolds Stables and Coun Kevin Johnston, Cabinet Member for Housing, Regeneration and Business at Sunderland City Council at Sheepfolds Stables.

Other upcoming openings include The 3 Stories, Flower Café, The Muddler, Pablo Eggsgobao, The Sofia and The Hideout Bar. Meanwhile, RIO Steakhouse is also set to open its doors in the former Bud Biggalow’s site in October, creating around 45 jobs.

Rodrigo Grassi-Duarte, co-founder and co-director, said: “We are looking forward to finally opening our Sunderland venue later this year. We will be starting the recruitment process over the coming weeks as we look to hire vital team members ahead of the restaurant opening.

“We work hard to train and look after our staff, maintaining the high standards of customer service the RIO brand is renowned for. Creating around 45 jobs, we are hopeful it will provide a huge boost to local people and we can’t wait to get started.”

Coun Kevin Johnston, Cabinet Member for Housing, Regeneration and Business at Sunderland City Council, said: “It’s fantastic to see so many new bars and restaurants opening and creating jobs for local people. Much has been made of the Ƶ’s hospitality sector and the many challenges facing it recently, however Sunderland is really bucking industry and national trends.

“We’ve had several new venues open this year and The Botanist alone attracted over 30,000 visitors in its first two months. Add to that the numerous new venues set to open over the coming months and the wider transformation of the city, including Riverside Sunderland and the future certainly looks bright for the sector in the city.”