Sunderland butcher enters restaurant business with new steakhouse bar & grill

Stirks Butchers, a butcher’s store with three premises in the Sunderland area, is set to open a steakhouse bar & grill in the city this summer.

The business is set to take over The Wavendon pub which will then be restored it to “its former glory.”

The venue is set to undergo a whole pub refurbishment and a name change, which will take place over a 5-week period. From the 2nd of June, the newly named The Broadway will open its doors to the North East region.

John Stirk, the owner and director of Stirks, will be taking over The Wavendon with business partner Richard Cooney.

Almost seven years ago, John bought his first Stirks store in Grangetown, Sunderland, when he was 24-years-old.

Since 2010, Stirks Butchers has grown from one to three stores and three members of staff to 30. Each week, Stirks produces between 2,500 to 3,000 meat packs and 20,000 links of sausage per week.

Speaking of their new venture, John said: “I am delighted to be restoring The Wavendon to its former glory. We really want to make it a place locals want to visit. I know what it takes to make a business successful and I know my customer base inside out.

“We’re excited to be offering not just the people of Sunderland a place to relax and enjoy some great food and drink.”

Richard added; “I’ve 25 years of experience in the licensed trade industry and 19 years of this was with Vaux brewery. I couldn’t be happier to be taking on this new venture with John.

“I’m a local lad and used to live on The Broadway when I was a young boy, so taking over The Wavendon really is a dream come true for me!”

Stirks Butchers’ three stores are based in Grangetown, Fulwell and Pallion.

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