A STREET food vendor and a doggy daycare facility are two of the businesses that will move into a shipping container village being built at Sunderland.

STACK Seaburn’s landlords Danieli Holdings have released the first names of just some of the businesses lined up for the new £2.5m leisure destination.

Big plans were unveiled earlier this year for 87 shipping containers, as part of the wider Sunderland regeneration project and is anticipated to bring 150 jobs to the region.

Danieli Holdings’ chief executive Neill Winch has now announced the first tenants.

Greek street food vendor Acropolis Street Food has been trading for three and a half years at Jesmond, Tynemouth and Newcastle markets as well as events throughout the region.

Owner Filip Tachan said: “This sounds like a very exciting project and we are delighted to be one of the first traders to come on board. This is a new challenge for us, but one we embrace with open arms. This is a great start to our growth strategy and we hope that there will be many more opportunities in 2020.”

Sunderland-based Woofs n Scruffs were keen to be involved after they saw an opportunity to expand the rapidly growing business, which has already seen franchise success in Sunderland, Durham and Washington.

The professional dog care providers offer a range of services including dog training, swimming lessons, grooming, dog socialisation clubs and even grooming courses.

At its new STACK Seaburn site, there will be dog training clubs, dog grooming, a self-service bathing area, raw food and retail, woofs weekly doggy group walks and a day creche.

Owner Mark Brown said: “Seaburn is full of doggy owners and this will be a fun and unique space for dog-walkers and owners alike. You will be able to self-service bath your dog once you come off the beach or even treat them to a groom whilst you enjoy food and drink in STACK. With STACK being pet friendly, it’s the perfect fit.

“We are both so excited, we can see the potential and have lots of ideas, we cannot wait. We have had such great feedback already and we will put our heart and soul into this.

“We are both from Sunderland and it means an awful lot to us, but also our late parents, Anne and Tom, who are sadly not with us, but both loved the seafront.”

Glen Downey, owner of award-winning Downey’s Fish and Chips, who is looking forward to playing a role in the Seaburn regeneration project.

He said: “Our family has deep Sunderland roots and we would love to be part of helping build and shape our beloved Seafront.”

The STACK Seaburn restaurant will be their sixth venue in the North East and will serve their award-winning traditional fish and chip menu.

Glen Downey, owner of Downey’s Fish and Chips, expressed his excitement to be a part of the new venture;

“We are very excited about being a big part of such an amazing development, not just for our home city, but for the whole of the North East and we can’t wait to get started at the STACK Seaburn site.”

Further names are expected to be announced in the coming weeks as only a few remaining containers are available for lease.

Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “STACK represents a fantastic opportunity for Sunderland businesses to open exciting new concept shops on the seafront, and the fact that two local businesses have already signed up to take space demonstrates not only the benefit this will bring to the local economy, but the additionality this will bring to the retail and leisure offer in Seaburn.

“Residents and visitors will enjoy a venue that both surprises and delights them, while local businesses will become part of a more vibrant coastal community that attracts more people and begins to create the destination seaside, we all want to see for the city. I’m really excited to see STACK open its doors next spring, with Downey’s Fish & Chips and Woof’s & Scruffs among the great businesses that will be part of it.”

Neill Winch, chief executive of STACK said: “We want the STACK Seaburn development to become part of the fabric of the community. It is therefore important to us that there is a good representation of traders, who are local to Sunderland, operating businesses from the units. So, we are delighted to have two well-known Sunderland businesses on board right from the start.

“We also want to bring excellent quality to the people of Sunderland and Acropolis are well known across the region for their tasty Greek street food. We believe these three traders will be our anchor tenants and will attract customers in their own rights”

STACK Seaburn is set to open in spring 2020 on Whitburn Road, on the old Seaburn Leisure Centre site.