Latest vendors announced for Stack Seaburn as first shipping containers are put in place

Acropolis Greek street food, Woofs ‘n’ Scruffs dog daycare and Downey’s Fish and Chips will take over three of 87 shipping containers at the £2.5million leisure village, which is being built on the site of the former Seaburn Centre.

They join the already announced Boojie Burger at the development, a mixture of food traders and commercial units, which is being brought to the city by Danieli Holdings who are behind the successful Stack in Newcastle.

Due to open in spring, work is well underway at the Sunderland site which is set to create 150 new jobs as part of the wider Sunderland Seafront Regeneration project.

Glen Downey, owner of award-winning Downey’s Fish and Chips which already have sites in Roker and Seaham among others, said: “Our family has deep Sunderland roots and we would love to be part of helping build and shape our beloved seafront.”

Acropolis serve authentic Greek street food and have had success trading at Jesmond, Tynemouth and Newcastle markets. Owner Filip Tachan said: “This sounds like a very exciting project and we are delighted to be one of the first traders to come on board. This is a new challenge for us, but one we embrace with open arms. This is a great start to our growth strategy and we hope that there will be many more opportunities in 2020.”

Sunderland-based Woofs n Scruffs doggy day-care centre were keen to be involved after they saw an opportunity to expand their rapidly growing business, which has already seen success in Sunderland, Durham and Washington with their four franchises.

At their Seaburn site, there will be dog training clubs, dog grooming, a self-service bathing area, food and retail, woofs weekly doggy group walks and a day creche.

Mark Brown, owner of Woofs n Scruffs, said: “Seaburn is full of dog owners and this will be a fun and unique space for dog walkers and owners alike. You will be able to self-service bath your dog once you come off the beach or even treat them to a groom whilst you enjoy food and drink in Stack. With Stack being pet friendly, it’s the perfect fit.”

Further names are expected to be announced in the coming weeks as only a few remaining containers are available for lease.

Neill Winch, chief executive of Stack, said: “We want the Stack Seaburn development to become part of the fabric of the community. It is therefore important to us that there is a good representation of traders, who are local to Sunderland, operating businesses from the units. So, we are delighted to have two well-known Sunderland businesses on board right from the start.”

Coun Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “Stack represents a fantastic opportunity for Sunderland businesses to open exciting new concept shops on the seafront, and the fact that two local businesses have already signed up to take space demonstrates, not only the benefit this will bring to the local economy, but also the variety this will bring to the retail and leisure offer in Seaburn.”