First look inside Sunderland's new Ruhe coffee shop at Roker Park

Ruhe, named after the German word for peace and tranquillity, will be serving up its first coffees from 8am on Friday, August 25 as it breathes new life into the area next to the bandstand.

Visitors can expect a Scandi-inspired aesthetic and superfoods including salads, sandwiches, homemade granola, brunches, smoothies and more to sit in or take away, with a kids’ menu also available.

Reclaimed furniture has been used to create the seating, which seats up to 28 people. Meanwhile, the council are finishing off new paving at the front of the site which will have space for outdoor seating.

It’s the first time the park has had its own permanent cafe and owners Hannah Jackson-Harrison, owner of the successful Flamingo cafe in Seaham, and Joanne Woods said they’re proud to be part of the park’s history.

Joanne said: “I went to Monkwearmouth School and came to the park as a kid, now we bring our kids here. We feel so proud to be the first, and only, permanent food outlet in the park, especially when it’s undergoing so many improvements. People have been saying it’s just what the park needs.”

Hannah said: “We’ve had such a great response from the community and we can’t wait to welcome people through the doors. We’ll be catering for people of all ages.”

Ruhe has recruited Andy Drape, formerly of Buddha Beat, as head chef, with other front of house posts filled. However, they are still recruiting for a barista and anyone interested is asked to email [email protected]

There’s a host of options on the menu, which includes an Asian tuna sandwich, priced £9, eggs Benedict priced £9, reuben sandwich, priced £7, brunch burrito, priced £8 and much more.

Coffees start, made using Sunderland-based RESINN, are priced from £3, with superfood lattes priced from £3.50 and smoothies from £3.90.

Ruhe is one in a number of improvements at the Victorian park, which dates back to 1880.

As well as the cafe, there will be amphitheatre-style seating installed overlooking the bandstand, improvements to existing planting schemes, restoration of the historic Grade II-listed bandstand, refurbishment of the former park-keepers' lodge and the installation of an accessible toilet.

It builds on improvements already made at the seafront park, such as the restoration of water features in the park including the waterfall and the boating lake.

:: Ruhe will be open every day from 8am until 6pm.

Seafront Regeneration

In recent years, the local authority has invested £10million in the seafront to boost its offering to residents, whilst also attracting visitors from around the region.

A number of new businesses have already opened in the past year, including Tin of Sardines, North, Coast and Grandpa Dickie’s, building on the success of Stack and the Seaburn Inn.

The area has also seen substantial landscaping improvements to the walkways.

This autumn will also see the arrival of a new small plates and brunch hot spot from the team at Black’s Corner who are busy transforming the old tram shelter in Seaburn.

The team at Vaux Brewery will also be creating a new beachfront bar in the shelter at the far end of Marine Walk.