Here’s what we know so far on each of the venues.
1. Sea Change, Museum & Winter Gardens
Sea Change is expected to be the next hospitality opening in the city. Work is forging ahead on transforming the cafe site at the Museum and Winter Gardens. The team has already built up a firm following for its vegan and vegetarian food in South Shields and the Wearside cafe will be a sister site. Established in 2019 by AutismAble, Sea Change offers training and employment opportunities for adults with disabilities and learning difficulties. The opening forms part of a major improvements at the venue. More than £600,000 will be invested this year in improving the Winter Gardens alone, with work nearing completion on wider repairs to the roof and masonry of the original Grade II listed 1879 Museum & Winter Gardens. | Submitted
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2. The Flower Cafe, Keel Square
The Flower Cafe has already announced that Sunderland can enjoy its brunch, cake, gourmet sandwich, cocktail and natural wine offering from this summer. The cafe and cocktail bar will take up the unit beneath Holiday Inn which faces on to High Street West and will complement the burgeoning offering in the city’s public square. Flower Cafe Sunderland will have 113 covers inside, with a further 46 seats on pavement seating outside, which will look down towards the new Culture House once it opens later this year. | Pulp Studio Design House
3. Blacks Corner at Culture House
Autumn will see the arrival of Blacks Corner at the new £27m Culture House in the heart of Keel Square. It will be the fifth site for the cheese and charcuterie specialists and they'll be offering the farmhouse produce for which they've become famed and more. The team will also cater for events taking place in the venue, including the Sky Garden overlooking the city. The venue will create 40 new jobs, taking the Blacks Corner workforce to more than 100. | Sunderland Echo
4. Elephant Rock, Roker
Work has resumed on the new Elephant Rock in the old shelter in Marine Walk. The team at Vaux has been busy with opening Bridge Hotel Vaults and relocating their brewery to larger premises in St Peter's to meet demand for their products, but 2025 should see the opening of their new beachfront bar - hopefully in time for the summer season. Named after the rock formation which once divided Roker and Seaburn, it will offer a wide range of beers, including, of course, Vaux products, and a food offering. | Sunderland Echo