This Saturday is the final day at this site.

A cafe with a strong community ethos that gives employment opportunities to people who are neurodiverse has announced that this will be its final week.

As well as helping neurodivergent people gain employment in hospitality, Sea Change at The Winter Gardens had a firm focus on vegan food | Sunderland Echo

placeholder image — As well as helping neurodivergent people gain employment in hospitality, Sea Change at The Winter Gardens had a firm focus on vegan food | Sunderland Echo

Sea Change gave new life to the cafe site in Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens in March 2025.

It’s a sister site to the original Sea Change in South Shields, established by AutismAble after they struggled to find employers willing to offer neurodivergent people a role.

With its hearty menu and ethos of employment for all, it proved a popular addition.

However, with the museum closing its doors on Saturday, August 29 for two years for a major £13.6m redevelopment, it means Sea Change will also be closing.

Fans of the hospitality site will still be able to visit its sister site, Wear in Vine Place, and the original Ocean Road Sea Change in South Shields, which are not affected by the closure.

Sister site Wear in Vine Place is unaffected by the closure | Sunderland Echo

AutismAble posted about the closure and thanked all those who support their work in the community and are encouraging people to pop in all this week to say goodbye.

Sadly, those employed at the Winter Gardens site will lose their jobs, but AutismAble, a specialist not-for-profit supporting neurodivergent people into employment, is hoping more opportunities will open up.

The statement reads: “Our final week at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens. Next Saturday, 29 August, Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens closes its doors to the public until 2028 as work begins on its major redevelopment.

“Sadly, it will also be the final day for our Sea Change café inside the museum. So, if you’ve ever visited us, or have been meaning to, we’d love to see you one last time this week.

“Every coffee, lunch and cake bought from Sea Change has helped us do something we’re really proud of: create meaningful paid employment and opportunities for disabled and neurodivergent people.

“We’re enormously grateful to Sunderland Council, @sunderlandmuseum , the Museum & Winter Gardens team, @minimoderns , our partner organisations and, most importantly, everyone who has visited and supported the café during our time here.

“Thank you so much for giving our team the opportunity to show what an inclusive workplace can be.

“Sadly, the closure also means that some members of our café team will lose their jobs. That’s undoubtedly the worst part of all of this. We will continue to support those affected and hope that, as Sea Change develops and new opportunities emerge, we can find ways to work with those staff again in the future.

“But this isn’t goodbye to Sea Change. Our smaller Sunderland café at WEAR, Vine Place @wearxco_cafe remains open, as does our flagship Sea Change Café on Ocean Road, South Shields.

“Our mission to create more inclusive employment opportunities continues. For now, we’d simply love to make this final week at the Museum a busy and memorable one for the team. Please come and see us, support the café and help us finish our time at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens on a high.”