Blacks Corner to open new venue at Culture House Sunderland

One of the region's top eateries is set to open a new venue in Sunderland city centre.

Blacks Corner is taking space inside the new multi-million-pound Culture House Sunderland, which is set to open later this year at Keel Square.

The new eatery will be located on the ground floor of the building, offering a unique dining experience featuring a bar area, interactive cheese counter, intimate dining space with an open studio kitchen that will feature workshops from in-house patisserie chefs. 

The team will also cater for events taking place in the venue, including the Sky Garden overlooking the city.

Jonathan Dryden, co-founder of Blacks Corner, said: "The opportunity to act as custodians of a brand new city and regional asset highlights how our ethos, deeply rooted in community engagement, sustainability and quality aligns with the overarching goals of both Culture House and the wider Riverside project. 

"Together with its partners, Sunderland City Council is blending the city's heritage with cultural innovation and creating a vibrant new city centre that serves both locals and visitors. For us, this new combination of city centre and residential is transformative, and we want to be part of it."

It will be a fourth outlet for Blacks Corner, building on the success of its distinctive East Boldon flagship restaurant, sister delicatessen and the Tram Shelter at Seaburn seafront which recently won a Northern Design Award. 

The venue - like Blacks Corner's other venues - will champion local and home-grown British produce, supporting small producers and setting a benchmark for quality and sustainable food practises in its offering. The venue will create 40 new jobs, taking the Blacks Corner headcount to over 100.

Culture House Sunderland will be a multi-purpose cultural venue, aiming to create a living room in the heart of the city where everyone feels welcome and loves to spend time. The venue will be home to the City Library, and will be packed with interactive, digital, educational features, with a year-round programme of things to do and see.

The building is part of Riverside Sunderland, one of the most ambitious city centre regeneration projects in the UK, with developments including: the Beam; City Hall; Maker & Faber, two Legal & General-backed highly sustainable offices; Sheepfolds Stables; the new footbridge across the River Wear; a state-of-the-art Eye Hospital; the National Esports Performance Campus; the cutting-edge Housing Innovation and Construction Skills Academy (HICSA) and 1,000 sustainable new homes.

"Sunderland City Centre's unique transformation has inspired us to collaborate and contribute to the vision of Culture House," said Jonathan. 

"We aim to fully establish our brand in the City with aspirations to be as iconic as Binns once was, positioning Blacks Corner as a regional beacon for Sunderland, much like Fenwick is for Newcastle."

Cllr Beth Jones, portfolio holder for Communities Culture and Tourism, said: "It's fantastic to be able to announce that we've managed to secure one of the region's finest eateries as our food and beverage partner for Culture House Sunderland.

"We know the quality and standard of what they produce and I'm sure it will be a great addition to the venue. And on top of that they will be creating dozens of new jobs for people in the area."

Culture House Sunderland is set to open in autumn 2025.