Sunderland's first dedicated smoothie bar opens at Stack Seaburn

Although there have been smoothie stands in the city previously, So Smooth Co is the first dedicated smoothie bar.

Joining the Stack Seaburn container village of independent businesses, it’s been a labour of love for business partners Callum Christie and Glen Watson who’ve spent months perfecting the recipes for their smoothies and cold pressed juices.

The result is a range of healthy drinks blended using natural ingredients with zero additives or sugars. The majority of their Super Smoothies contain most of your five a day and are made using organic fruit and vegetables.

Although it’s a difficult climate in which to launch a new business, Callum says they are overwhelmed by the level of support from their home city.

"We thought that by opening for takeaway a couple of weeks before Stack opens up for sit in dining on April 12 it would give us time to ease in gently, but every day has been mental,” he said.

Callum, who used to DJ in Stack as well as in city bars such as Port of Call, added: "With trying to build a new business in Covid, we thought we’d have to do a lot of flyering to get our name out there, and that was built into our business plan.

"But we haven’t had to do any of that yet. We’ve just done social media and never expected the response we’ve had. It’s something new for the city and people are really supporting it. It’s been amazing.”

So Smooth Co has taken up one of the few remaining units at the £3million development.

Glen has a background in health and fitness and it’s helped inspire his new venture.

"I used to run bootcamps and a lot of people just don’t like the taste of things like kale and greens, even though they’re so good for your health,” he said “So smoothies are a great way of getting all those health benefits but with a great taste.”

The pair, who worked with a nutritionist to create their menu, also sell smoothies for children which include cauliflower and banana, blended with cacao powder, milk and natural peanut butter, so that kids are getting healthy ingredients – without even realising.

Other smoothies, priced from £4.50, include Strawberry Stack, Berry Blast, Vitamin Sunshine, Feel Good Detox, Pretty in Pink and Bamblu, as well as N’ice Blasts, smoothie bowls, cold pressed juices, teas and protein shakes. People can also build their own smoothies.

Speaking about the regeneration of the seafront, which in the coming months will welcome the Seaburn Inn Hotel, cafes and restaurants in former shelters as well as phase 2 of Stack eventually, Glen said: “We’re two local lads from Sunderland and we’re happy to help in all the regeneration of the seafront. We’ll be providing a lot of jobs for people as well and we’ll be taking on employees.”

As well as recruiting for staff to join the team, the businessmen also have plans to extend the brand to other coastal areas.

*So Smooth Co is currently open from 10am to 5.30pm but will be open from 9am to 9pm from April 12.

Support your Echo and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news, the latest on SAFC and new puzzles every day. With a digital subscription, you can see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.