Next operator commits to Keel Square
The third Flower Café venue opened by Sayturk Group will take the fourth and final unit under the Holiday Inn at the Riverside Sunderland location, with plans now submitted.
The imagery as seen in the planning documents reveals an exterior in keeping with the group’s other venues in Newcastle’s Grainger Town, and in Alnwick.
The Sunderland venue – which will also feature a pavement cafe running along High Street West – will complement The Botanist and Keel Tavern, both of which are now open, and The Muddler, which is expected to join them later this year.
Flower Cafe is described as featuring “an eccentric mix of global design accents, centred around a playful floral influence” serving from breakfast to late at night.
The first Flower Cafe opened in 2021 and proved so much of a hit with Tynesiders that a second cafe was opened in Alnwick at the end of 2023. It is hoped the Sunderland cafe bar will enjoy similar success.
Gerard McElvenny, co-founder of Pulp Studios Design House, who also helped design Keel Tavern, which opened in November, and the recently revamped Gatsby’s, said the aim was to create a vibrant new place that would fit well with the other places to enjoy at Keel Square.
He said: “We’re delighted to have helped shape plans for a stunning new cafe bar that will provide a colourful new addition to Sunderland’s hospitality scene.
“The plans will bring something different to the city, a place that can be enjoyed by day and by evening by people who live and work in Sunderland as well as those who visit.”
Plans feature an eclectic arrangement of seating, to provide cosy corners and larger areas for informal dining or special occasions.
The venue will have 113 covers inside and 46 in the outdoor space.
Peter McIntyre, executive director of city development at Sunderland City Council, said: “Flower Cafe has been a huge success in Newcastle and like the hospitality groups behind The Botanist, the Keel Tavern and The Muddler, it is wonderful to see another business that has traditionally focused on locations North of the Tyne seeing the huge potential in our transforming city.
“We’ve worked hard to make sure that Sunderland attracts the best venues, and this is another example of that. We hope residents enjoy this exciting new offer.”
