The bar and restaurant, known for its botanical interior designs and menu offerings including cocktails and hanging kebabs will be located in a unit beneath a new Holiday Inn hotel on Keel Square. It will be one of four retail and leisure spaces at street-level beneath the soon-to-be-completed hotel and will create about 60 new jobs.
Natasha Waterfield, chief operating officer at NWTC, which operates 34 sites across the UK, said: “Our Botanist brand is so well-loved by our guests, so it’s always exciting for us to bring our concept-venue to new cities and towns.”
Unparalleled investment
Waterfield continued: “Sunderland is a transforming place, thanks to unparalleled investment in the city centre and the vision of the local authority, and we’re excited by the opportunity to bring our immersive offer to the area. We can’t wait to open later this year.”
An opening date is yet to be confirmed but the company has applied to the council’s licencing team ahead of signing a lease on the site.
The move has been welcomed by the city’s council. Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “Investment is pouring into Sunderland at an unprecedented rate and that’s drawing the interest of leisure operators who understand that – as the city becomes more vibrant and dynamic – they can be part of a reimagined and reinvented place.”
Brilliant brand
Miller continued: “We are thrilled to welcome The Botanist to Sunderland. It’s a brilliant brand that we know will enliven this part of the city centre by day as it will by evening.”
The bar will be part of the new £18m 120-bed Holiday Inn project, which is close to completion. North-east-based property firm Bradley Hall assisted in bringing The Botantist to Sunderland.
Bradley Hall group managing director Neil Hart added: “Sunderland’s transformation in recent years has been staggering, so it’s little surprise that it is attracting interest from award-winning brands like The Botanist, who can see the vast potential in the city.”