Inside the newest addition to East Boldon as Blossoms blooms in well-known spot

“The village has been so welcoming, people have been coming in and introducing themselves,” says the owner of one of East Boldon’s newest spots.

Local businesswoman Kaye Riley and daughter Heidi have transformed the former Wisteria Kitchen shop in Station Road, which had stood empty for over a year.

It’s seen a pretty-in-pink makeover of the site to create Blossoms, specialising in cakes, coffees, brunches, acai bowls, lunches, matcha and more.

Kaye’s cakes are already well-known in the area after she ran the The Corner Deli in Stanhope Road, South Shields, for many years before launching The Little Cakery post-Covid.

Over the years, the latter, which has a bakery at North East BIC in Sunderland, has become a regular on the food market circuit, with regular stalls at places such as Jesmond Food Market, Hebburn Food Market and Sheepfolds Stables market.

Now, Kaye is back with her own sit-in business, in conjunction with The Little Cakery, and she says it’s great to be serving people once more.

“After many years doing markets, we started doing wholesale cakes for other business, such as Ruhe in Roker Park,” said Kaye. “And it seemed like a natural progression to open our own premises again.

“This unit really stood out because it’s such a beautiful old building and there’s other great businesses that have opened up, like Arches.”

Last summer, it had been a different story in East Boldon when the village was hit by a number of closures, including Wisteria Kitchen, leading to village resident and businessman Jonny Dryden of Blacks Corner to put out a rallying cry for people to support their local businesses, an important part of the fabric of village life.

In the past few months, new independents have sprung up in the village, including Arches which has seen a tasteful transformation of the former Volare site in Station Road into a bistro and Piccola deli and pizza place in the former Blacks Corner deli in St Johns Terrace.

Meanwhile, Rebel’s Bar, a new local pub for the village, has opened at Station Approach.

Kaye said: “The feedback we have had is that people really want independent businesses in the village and they were desperate for a new breakfast spot.

“We only opened last Wednesday and it’s been overwhelming really, we didn’t expect to be so busy. Last Friday, we opened the door at 9am and every table was full by 9.15am. It was manic, but we’re more in the swing of things now.”

Blossoms, which has created eight new jobs, seats around 46 people and there is also new seating outside at the back.

Moving forward, there’s also plans to open in the evenings to offer small plates and wines.

Kaye said: “It’s been so nice serving people again and we can’t wait for all our ideas to come together. We have lots of different nights and events in the pipeline.”

*Blossoms is currently open seven days a week from 9am to 4pm. Dog-friendly. You can also make reservations ahead.

What’s on the menu and prices

On the menu, there’s a wide range of loaded sourdough options, with toppings such as Turkish Eggs and Hot Honey Halloumi, with vegan and vegetarian options available. Prices start at £10.

For kids, there’s choices like a little English breakfast (£5.50) and mini granola bowl (£4.50).

There’s also a wide range of acai bowls, starting from £9, with various choices of toppings.

Classic options also include a Blossoms vegan breakfast (£14), a classic full English (£14) and breakfast bun (£10), with a range of eggs Benedicts, starting from £9.50.

Hearty bowl dishes include shakshouka (£13), beef brisket hash bowl (£15.50) and more.

On the counter, there’s also a range of tray bakes, scones and cakes.

Drinks include smoothies, matchas, frappes, coffees, teas and more, with prices starting at £2.90 for an espresso.