Sunderland's Port of Call celebrates 10th anniversary - raising a glass to the city centre spot

Port of Call is raising a glass to 10 years since it dropped anchor in Sunderland city centre.

It was in December 2014 that the three-storey venue opened its doors in Park Lane and it's gone on to become one of the city centre's most-consistently popular bars thanks to its strong food and drink offering and spaces for functions.

It stands on the site of the former Chase bar, which before that had housed Jonny Ringo's and Sunderland institution Fino's.

However, such was the state of the building that the Dickman family chose to pull it down and create a brand new £1million venue for the city in Port of Call.

Although drawing on the city's heritage is a common inspiration for bar's aesthetics these days, back then Port of Call was ahead of its time.

Gerard Mcelvenny of award-winning North East interior design specialist Pulp Studios Design House was behind the shipbuilding theme, which honours local shipyards such as Austin & Pickersgill where co-owner John Dickman once worked.

The business was also one of the first in the area to invest in a tipi seven years ago, which has become a popular function venue.

As well as the latter, the second floor is a busy function space, which holds around 300 people, and such is the popularity that both function venues are fully booked every Saturday night until August.

It's very much a Sunderland family business with Adam Dickman working alongside mum and dad Karen and John across the family's three venues, which also includes Gastby in Park Lane and Port of Call Seaham.

Collectively, they employ 75 people, many of whom have worked at Port of Call since it first opened.

Speaking about the bar's longevity in what can be a challenging industry, Adam said: "I think it's because we're always ahead of the curve and I think no one could accuse any of our venues of looking tired.

"We're never afraid of investing in the sites. Because of that we've always had a steady trade."

Like many bars, match days are popular at Port of Call and, along with Gastby, it had its busiest day of trading ever for the recent derby game.

The food menu at Port of Call, which includes options such as loaded fries, steak sandwiches, gyros and burgers, is also a big draw and it's one of the many city centre venues taking part in the next Sunderland Restaurant Week in March.

"Our food offering has become really popular and we've expanded that offering over the years. It wasn't our focus at first, but that's definitely the way a lot of businesses are going now," added Adam.

To mark a decade in the city, the bar will be announcing a string of events and special menus, which will feature some of the old favourites from over the years.

This summer will also see Gatsby undergo a major makeover and upgrade, with a brief period of closure whilst works are undertaken.

More recently, the bars have been joined by new additions to the city, including national chain The Botanist and The Keel Tavern in Keel Square, which is operated by North East chain The Vaulkhard Group.

Adam say's it's great to have a broader offering for people, as long as they're quality venues such as those above.

This year will also see the creation of a new community at the end of Park Lane, with construction of 265 new homes underway on the old Civic Centre.

The first of those homes are due to be completed and ready to live in by autumn 2024.

Having more people living and working in the city centre has been a key part of the regeneration masterplan, with work also underway on the creation of 1,000 new homes either side of the Wear on the Riverside development.

The wave of hospitality venues are set to cater for the increase in the city centre population, whilst also encouraging the existing customer base to spend in their home city.