WEAR BACK!
Businesses ready to welcome return of customers
Log on to www.sunderlandecho.com for live coverage of today's re-openings
Stack is back – and its owners say they can’t wait for people to enjoy themselves once more at the seafront venue.
From 10am today, Stack Seaburn will be among the outdoor spaces in the city reopening their doors to the public in line with the Government’s roadmap planned to ease the country out of lockdown.
As one of the city’s largest beer gardens, it’s amongst the most eagerly-awaited reopenings with thousands of people booked to attend in its first few weeks.
At one point, as bookings went live, 6,000 people were trying to book the same tables.
The first two weeks of reopening were booked out in an hour and a half.
Visitors will no doubt be keen to work their way through the venue’s varied hub of food and drink traders.
Acropolis, Longhorns, Healthy Thaim, Holy Duck, Boojie Burger, Chapos Tacos, The Little Cakery, Heineken bar, Farah’s Italiano, The Hop House, ZZA Pizzaria, Yolo Bar, Yolo coffee shop, Downey’s, The Gin Cabinet and Barley & Me will all be reopening to customers.
Due to the North East being placed in the then Tier 3, Stack has not been open for sit-in dining since November 5.
A limited number of traders have been running a click and collect service since then.
This may continue should there be the demand.
"We are eager as anything to let people back in,” said Gemma Dishman, Marketing & Special Projects Manager for Danieli Holdings who own Stack.
Years in the planning, Stack was designed to be a walk-in venue.
But due to coronavirus, it had to slash its capacity from 2,000 to 600 and introduce a temporary booking system to meet the Government’s requirements.
Despite that, in the 10 weeks it operated as a sit-in venue, from opening in early September, it welcomed 100,000 people through its doors.
It has attracted people from as far south as Teesside and as far north as Northumberland to Seaburn.
It has given a much-needed boost to the local economy, while also providing 100 new jobs for the city – on top of the traders’ jobs.
Gemma said: “We opened in a pandemic which is challenging, but the response we had in those 10 weeks was incredibly positive.
"We know our audience is eager to come back and enjoy the food, drink and entertainment, and we want them to have a good time, but we want them to be able to do that even with the restrictions in place.”
It’s hoped that Stack will be able to open for the first time as it was intended to be as a venue from June 21 when all restrictions will be lifted.
In the meantime, many have expressed disappointment in not being able to get a booking.
But Gemma explained the guidelines they must follow.
"We need to ensure social distancing to be able to open and that those who do have a booking have the full Stack experience with a threehour window,” she said.
"We’re not built to be a bookable venue, but we had to adapt in the pandemic.”