Inside... everything you need to know about Sunderland Restaurant Week, 2025 plans, launch of PROPA!, Professionals Lunch, as well as all the usual stuff!
It doesn’t seem five minutes since we were going to the ballot for the BID and here we are, at the end of the first year of our third term.
And what a year it’s been – with plenty of achievements under our belt to bring more footfall into the city, making it look more welcoming and vibrant and also giving our continued support to help businesses.
2024 saw an absolutely jam-packed events calendar with the return of favourites like Sunderland Restaurant Week and Sunderland Food and Drink Festival, as well as the introduction of brand new initiatives such as the highly popular Urban Fest.
We aimed our events to attract a wide demographic, with something for youngsters and families, for adults and teenagers.
We have also stuck to our commitment to giving a spruce up when necessary – so we’ve painted walls, benches and electrical boxes, dressed planters and the bins – all carried out by our hard working ranger who now has an
FROM SHARON
assistant to help him.
The BID expanded in to the Sheepfolds last year and has continued to play an important role in shaping the city centre of the future.
We are working closely with Sunderland City Council on developing an exciting retail strategy, as well as supporting the tourism strategy.
And of course, helping businesses to thrive is at the heart of everything we do, which is why we have delivered numerous events and workshops as well as ensuring the voice of traders in the city is heard.
We know 2025 is going to be a challenging year for businesses with the Government’s increase in NI and the new national minimum and living wage, which will add even more pressure.
We’re here to help and support you and that’s why it’s so important to make the most of every opportunity – and you can read about many of the initiatives we have in store and how you
can get involved on the following pages.
And while it may be tough out there, we have lots to look forward to and celebrate.
The on-going city transformation will see more jobs, more homes and more office space and we can look forward to the opening of the new bridge and Culture House, as well as welcoming the first game of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025.
We are so looking forward to the year ahead and sharing this journey with you – please follow our social media channels and sign up to our newsletters for the latest updates.
Chief Executive, Sharon Appleby
If
SUNDERLAND RESTAURANT WEEK
We are once again getting ready for one of the most popular events of the year - the return of Sunderland Restaurant Week.
The first event in 2025 will take place from 15 - 23 March and now is the perfect time to sign up so you don’t miss out.
The benefits are absolutely endless – it encourages
TO
REALLY MAXIMISE
ON THE BENEFITS OF THE WEEK, HERE’S OUR TOP 10 TIPS
1. Come up with a unique offer that really showcases your food offering and that will entice people through the doors.
2. Sign up as soon as possible, so you can benefit from all of the advance promotion and marketing around the week.
3. Share with us – and via your own social channels –some great imagery to showcase your food and your restaurant.
4. Make sure you post about your involvement across
former customers to come back and reacquaint themselves with your establishment, while also bringing new customers through the doors who can discover what you have to offer.
All you need to do is come up with a £10, £15 or £20 offer and share the details with us – if you’d like to take part or want more information, then email us at info@sunderlandbid.co.uk
your social media channels.
5. Tag @sunderlandexperience in all of your posts so we can reshare them with our audiences.
6. Tell your customers in advance that you’re taking part in restaurant week, so that your regulars come back.
7. Explain to your customers who may not know what Restaurant Week is all about.
8. Make good use of all the print collateral we provide you with – from table toppers to posters.
9. Make sure you keep sharing throughout the week itself – don’t just think all of the promotion is done once the week begins.
10. Get feedback from your customers – this will help you not only for the next Restaurant Week but for any individual initiatives you want to run during the year.
WHAT WENT DOWN IN 2024
2024 was a numbers game at Sunderland BID – and they’re numbers we’re very proud of.
Our initiatives boosted the local economy to the tune of £4M at the same time bringing in 92,600 local residents and visitors to attend the events. And of course, as previously mentioned we’ve expanded our remit and now include the Sheepfolds.
HERE’S AN AT-A-GLANCE LOOK AT 2024:
• Street Ranger – 311 jobs carried out, 69 pieces of graffiti removed, 122 jobs reported to the Council.
• Chinese New Year – 1,500 people attended the event.
• Sunniside Food Markets – we delivered 11 markets and attracted more than 4,950 people.
• Restaurant Week – brought an additional £1.2M into the local economy.
• Make Music Day – 21 performers and 14 venues got involved.
• Sunderland Food & Drink Festival – footfall across the 3-day event was 30,000.
• Arts and Culture Trail – more than 100 artists and 45 venues got involved. The event attracted more than 2,500 people.
• Urban Fest – the first event of its kind in the North East. 2,500 people got involved.
• Sunderland Gift Card – surpassed last year’s sales with a total of £145,125 in 2024.
• Social media – 26,617 followers with a 15.7% increase across all channels. Total number of impressions 4.2M.
• Newsletters – we sent out 70 digital newsletters to businesses and consumers. Our total audience number now is 11,264.
• Website – 393,808 people visited our website.
• Engaged with 472 levy payers.
WHAT’S POPPIN’ IN
2025 is now well underway and we’re extremely excited about what is on the horizon.
One of the biggest plans is to create a Seafront BID, expanding into Roker and Seaburn so that we can take a joined-up approach across the city.
It makes perfect sense for the city centre and seafront to work together and it gives us some real opportunities not just to promote the heritage of the city but to also link in with the council’s tourism strategy to help build visitor numbers.
We’d be delighted to talk to anyone who wants to find out more – so please get in touch.
And that’s just one of the exciting things to look forward to this year with key developments such as the new bridge and Culture House - as previously mentioned – set to be completed.
The arrival of the Women’s Rugby World Cup and its first game with the Red Roses represents a massive opportunity for the city – and for businesses to maximise on the increased visitor numbers.
So what else is on our 2025 to do list?
We’ll continue to improve the Street Ranger services and work with partners to ensure a safe and inviting environment.
We’re looking to introduce new services such as a cardboard recycling scheme, gutter cleaning, and chewing gum removal for our levy payers. All non-levy payers will also be able to access services for a charge.
We will push on with our plans to achieve Purple Flag status – the national accreditation which recognises towns and cities that have a safe and vibrant nighttime economy – and we are aiming to get this within the next 12 months.
The look and feel of the city is still high on our list of priorities and with that in mind, we’re looking at projects in both Blandford Street and Park Lane to make both areas more accessible and inviting.
We’re also looking at the existing furniture, such as lampposts and electrical boxes, to get these painted and look more vibrant.
We’ll continue growing our comms channels and creating positive PR to raise the profile of Sunderland and reach more people.
Events such as Restaurant Week and Sunderland Food & Drink Fest will make a return with new projects and animations to be introduced later in the year.
We’re looking at creating more business events throughout the year and will build on the current success of the Sunderland Gift Card scheme to help increase sales and spend in the city.
We will also be looking to grow our Affiliate Scheme which has already been a great success, attracting non-levy payers to become a BID affiliate and enjoy a whole host of benefits.
And this is just a start. If you have an idea or anything you’d like to share, then please get in touch. We would love to hear from you.
Or if you have any questions, please email info@sunderlandbid.co.uk or ring 0191 722 1002.
TOP 10 LIST OF EASY-TO-DO ACTIONS
WILL ENSURE YOU GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR BID
• Follow @sunderlandexperience to stay up to date and tag us in your posts so we can share them.
• Sign up to our newsletters by emailing info@sunderlandbid.co.uk.
• Let us know if you changed your contact details or your key staff members.
• Promote city centre events and come up with promotions/offers to attract more customers.
• Sign up to the Sunderland Gift Card scheme and start bringing more income. If you already accept the card, remind your staff and promote the fact that you accept it across your channels.
• Register with Sunderland App and submit an offer to increase visibility.
• Get involved with events such as Restaurant Week, Cocktail Week, Food & Drink Festival and other opportunities that come up throughout the year.
• Advertise for free on our digital screens in and around the city.
• Let us know if you have any events or offers so we can promote them.
• Share with us any good news stories about you or your business.
CITY DEVELOPMENTS
The continued growth and development of Sunderland city centre is taking place at a breakneck speed, with two major projects on the horizon.
This autumn Culture House Sunderland: The National Centre for Creative Smart Cities is set to open, a multipurpose cultural venue which will also house the City Library.
Visitors will be able to enjoy a whole host of interactive and digital experiences alongside a year-round programme of activities.
Inventor labs, maker spaces, a 360 degree storytelling studio, virtual reality exhibits and even a roof garden will all be on offer in this innovative space.
The National Centre for Creative Smart Cities will showcase the use of creativity and innovation to enhance urban living, as well as hosting events, workshops and exhibitions to highlight emerging technologies, celebrate diverse cultures and foster community engagement.
Committed to having something for everyone, it aims to become a nationally recognised blueprint to show how cultural venues and libraries can contribute to the future
development of cities.
Meanwhile the first steps have been taken to create a new public park in the city centre.
Riverside Park will be at the heart of Riverside Sunderland, made up of five areas - Southern Gateway, Kingsley Gardens, Galley’s Gill, Lambton Riverside, and Wearmouth Riverside.
The first phase to create Southern Gateway and Kingsley Gardens is now underway, in a project being created by Sunderland City Council and delivered by Durham-based Esh Group.
Situated between the Riverside multi-storey car park and new Eye Hospital, the Southern Gateway will comprise a new park entrance, attractive landscaped spaces, ponds, and social areas designed to increase biodiversity and encourage public use.
Kingsley Gardens, a community-managed garden space featuring individual and communal plots, will provide public spaces for growing organic fruit and vegetables and spaces to relax and socialise.
Future phases will see the introduction of more high-quality landscaping, walking routes and exercise zones, play areas and a skate park, and areas for community gatherings and events.
For more information, please visit riversidesunderland.com
PROPA!
For the past 25 years, Si King has been a much-loved TV favourite.
As one half of The Hairy Bikers, he has shared his passion and love of food with a huge audience, so when he decided to venture into his first restaurant operation, it’s fair to say he could have opened it anywhere in the UK – or beyond.
Yet Si chose Sunderland, opening Propa! – his personal tribute to hearty, traditional, comfort food - at the Sheepfolds Stables – for one very good reason.
“The reason that I decided to come to Sunderland is down to one man, Rick Marsden and his family and their vision for the Sheepfolds,” said Si.
Rick heads up Building Design Northern, the company which has turned the former stables into a vibrant and exciting city destination.
“When I first went to see the Sheepfolds, it was like the wreck of the Hesperus,” said Si.
“But I completely got what Rick wanted to do and I absolutely believed in that vision.”
Si has spent decades eating and cooking – and sharing those
experiences with millions of fans worldwide – but this is actually the first time he has put his name to a restaurant.
He knew however exactly what the food offering would be - hearty, traditional dishes “the kind your mam or your gran or your great gran made, the stuff we all grew up eating.”
“The Hairy Bikers were known as the kings of comfort food and what we are doing at Propa! is very much that legacy,” he said.
“It’s food with a cultural reference, with a sense of nostalgia, something that we can all relate to.”
The menu – which alters regularly – is packed full of crowd pleasing favourites, from handmade pies –“made from scratch every day” – to Panacalty and flat rib broth.
Every dish has been priced at a pocket friendly £12, with all the ingredients sourced from within a 50 miles radius.
“With the exception of some organic pulses which we get from the south because we can’t get them locally –unless of course someone can tell us differently – everything comes from within 50 miles of Sunderland or it doesn’t come into our kitchen,” said Si.
The same high standards apply to the business model – where the eatery is run as a “collaborative co-operative.”
“Everyone who works at Propa! has a stake in it,” said Si.
For Si it was not only important for his team to be invested in the venture, but to also showcase a different way that food businesses could be run.
“I was very keen to change the model of the way that the industry works,” he said.
“I wanted to illustrate that you can be different and you can be profitable. It is all about creating quality and excellence.”
Although Si is not in any immediate rush, it seems almost inevitable that Propa! will eventually be rolled out to other areas of the country, given the success of the Sheepfolds.
“It has far exceeded our expectations,” he said.
“People have genuinely been so kind and supportive and given us so much great feedback.”
Chances are that most days you’ll find Si at the location, supporting the team and chatting to delighted diners.
A combination of good quality food and his star power has driven visitors from across the country.
“We’ve had people from Birmingham, from Torquay and even Glasgow,” he said – adding with a laugh “and most amazingly of all – people from Newcastle!!”
The impact that the food and drink sector makes on Sunderland’s retail economy is huge, according to research.
In fact it is actually the biggest contributor to the local economy, accounting for more than 33% of retail sales.
This information was shared at a recent event by Adam Rabinowitz from
PROFESSIONALS LUNCH
DATA TRENDS
retail data company, Beauclair, who highlighted the changing face of spend in the city.
Following hot on the heels of the contribution made to the local economy by food and drink, was fashion, followed by health and beauty.
“These three sectors alone are responsible for more than 75 per cent of sales made in Sunderland,” he said.
“Food and drink is one the most resilient sectors and has grown considerably in the past two years.”
The fact that this sector also continues to grow is good news for the city, with Sunderland restaurant and bar scene going from strength to strength.
Businesses can now stay up to date and access live data on footfall by visiting sunderlandbid.co.uk/open-data
What have Leo Pearlman, Film Producer and Managing Partner of Fulwell 73, Chester King, CEO and Founder of British Esports and exjewellery chain boss Geral Ratner got in common?
They are just some of the most engaging and exciting guest speakers we have had at our Professionals Lunches!
This popular event - which is held at the City Bistro at Sunderland College – is a great opportunity not just to
network but to enjoy a two course lunch created by the college catering students and to hear from a guest speaker on subjects relevant to city businesses.
Our next event is being held on 14 March, and this time round, we’re delighted to welcome Liz St Louis, Director for Smart Cities at Sunderland City Council, as our guest.
Liz will talk about Smart Cities and what it means for Sunderland, as well as give an update on what has been
delivered so far and the opportunities going forward.
There will also be an opportunity to be the first to try the new autonomous vehicle introduced by the Smart Cities.
If you would like to book a table for your team or your clients or just a ticket for yourself, please email info@sunderlandbid.co.uk
Any business interested in sponsoring the event, please email roberta@sunderlandbid.co.uk
