'Coffee for a good cause' - what to expect from Space as it helps transform historic Sunderland spot

“We really want people to be part of the story,” says the owner of Sunderland’s newest coffee shop which will be serving cuppas for a good cause.

James Fildes has been met with a wave of support after we announced last week that he would be expanding his men’s mental health organisation, Space, by opening a new coffee shop and events space.

His social enterprise, Space North East, has already reached thousands of men with its mobile coffee van and free weekly programme of events, peer support and development programmes.

Now, five years after James used his own battle with depression to help tackle male suicide, he’s busy taking the next step with the Space coffee shop.

Work has already started on creating the new addition, which forms part of a major sympathetic restoration of the former tyre shop on the corner of Villiers Street and High Street West.

The building in Sunniside may have most recently been a tyre shop, but it has a much longer history in the city, stretching back to the early 1800s.

The whole corner block is being put back into the heart of the community by The Quakers who have taken over the lease of the building to create The Friends Meeting Place.

As well as the upstairs rooms being a place of worship for The Quakers, it will also host offices and meeting rooms for hire, with the two ground floor units recreated with heritage shopfronts, to put the corner block back into active use.

Space is the first of two established businesses to be announced for the ground floor, with the second to be announced soon - and James says he can’t wait for Space to join in the renaissance of Sunniside.

“We reckon we’ll be open in four weeks and what’s amazing is to be working with local contractors on this, like Caddick and Mears who are providing their labour through their social value arm,” explained James who’s also had funding from Placefirst.

“We’re so excited to bring more value to this community. By day we’ll be a high end coffee shop and nothing else, but by night we’ll be delivering events.

“We’re building a stage which will be used to deliver talks, comedy nights, guest speakers, quiz nights, a really flexible space.”

The coffee shop builds on Space’s current offering and every penny of profit from the coffee shop will fund the delivery and expansion of Space’s free early intervention and prevention services for men, as well as region-wide expansion of the service called Mission2030.

The coffee shop will be serving coffees, cakes and Deep North doughnuts at first and will start offering a food menu in the New Year as part of a wave of new additions and investment in Sunniside.

James looked at a number of sites but he says the Sunniside spot shone out.

“There’s an amazing community spirit here and we’ve had an unbelievable response to the news that we’re opening here,” he said.

“Our slogan is ‘be part of the story’ and we really want people to feel part of Space. Yes, its profits help in the prevention of male suicide, but the space is for everyone.

“The whole idea of Space came about from me working in coffee shops and seeing people talking to each other, it’s so important to share little moments with each other.”

As people enjoy a coffee, there will be a QR code on the table for anybody looking to access support in an informal way.

Led by the Tyne and Wear Building Preservation Trust, the regeneration of the building has been supported by funding from Historic England, who have committed £923,208 along with significant investment from the Quakers.

Matt Moore from Sunderland Quakers said they’re looking forward to welcoming the community through the doors.

“We’re close to builders handing over now and our first Quakers meeting for worship will be held this weekend,” he explained.

“We want people to see this building as more than a Quakers meeting place, it really is for the whole community. The Quakers couldn’t make it run 9am-5pm Monday to Friday, which is why there’s so much social activity to put the building back into active use.

“There’s actually a series of fortunate events which made everything come together, it’s more than a partnership, it’s community coming together. James and Space is a fantastic fit here and we’re ecstatic to have them.”

The Friends Meeting Place is in the middle of two other big developments in Sunniside, with 75 new homes being built to the right and work well underway on George Clarke’s Home of Books to the left, due to open in April 2027.