Inside Sunderland city centre's newest coffee shop Port as it opens up in clothing store Port Independent

Port Independent clothing store, on the corner of St Thomas Street and John Street, has opened its own in-house coffee shop.

Housed in the former CoffeeHaus space within the store, it’s named Port, a name which now brings together all the elements of the business: clothing, homewares and coffee.

New additions at the site include a new hand-painted abstract mural with local references, a new look at the coffee shop and almost double the amount of seating than its previous guise.

Coffee served is made with Cracked Bean coffee, a roastery and social enterprise based in Sunderland which specialises in ethically-sourced beans.

A range of cakes are available at Port, which opened the coffee shop this week, with a view to providing a wider range of food in the future.

Port director Gerard Purvis said: “We’ve rebranded from Port Independent to Port and created a new coffee space, which is more in keeping with my original idea for the business which was to have one fluid, multipurpose space.

"With a lot more people working from home and more students in the city, I wanted to create something that appealed to people who want to work in social spaces, so we’ve opened up the space and brought in bigger tables, and more tables with plug ports.

"The response in the first week has been great, we’ve seen some regulars as well as new faces. People really love the coffee, which is the most important thing.”

The bigger space also allows for flexibility with evening events, such as gigs, monthly quizzes and more at the site, which has a fully-licensed bar.

The coffee shop is one in a number of new businesses to open in the city recently and Gerard says footfall is increasing as more and more businesses open their doors.

“There’s so much happening in the city, especially around Keel Square. I feel like there really is something for everyone at the minute with the new businesses and more opening can only be good for the city.”

:: Port coffee is open 8.30am to 4pm Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm on Saturdays and 10am to 2pm on Sundays.