Our unique drinks have transformed our South Shields riverside venue into a social media hit
A South Shields café-bar has seen a boom in business after becoming a social media sensation.
A South Shields riverside café-bar has boosted its customer base after its unique drinks have become a hit on social media.
Ferry View, on Ferry Street, has transformed itself from relying on passing trade to now becoming a destination for people from across the North East and beyond.
It has become known for its unique coffee combinations, acai bowls, loaded strawberries and only place in the country to serve Dutch Fries with Zaanse Sauce - which is specially imports.
‘Credit to our staff’
Kenny Coates, Ferry View’s co-owner, has spoken of the “surreal” feeling he has over how the venue’s popularity has grown in such a short space of time.
He said: “When it was announced that the Ferry would be closed, we made a decision to reinvent ourselves and make this a bit of a destination - which is very much what we’ve done.
“Previously we were relying on passing trade so we’ve really honed in on younger people via social media and March our busiest month that we’ve had since opening last year.
“It all feels a bit surreal to see our drinks shared all over Instagram but it is a real credit to our staff because they are some really talented people who come up with great ideas.
“Seeing a long queue of people who are wanting to try our drinks going all the way down the ferry landing is quite breath-taking.”
Looking ahead
Kenny has also given an insight into what the future holds for Ferry View as it continues to cement itself within South Shields’ hospitality sector.
He added: “There is a couple of things going on behind the scenes here and we’ve recently had plans for a retractable roof approved so that will really help us on rainy or cold days.
“Getting that approved was really important to us because we went into the winter and we struggled quite a bit.
“We’ve got plans to make Ferry View even better as we head into the summer and conversations are being held to potentially establish a second site.”
You can keep up to date with Ferry View at: https://theferryview.co.uk/, https://www.facebook.com/p/Ferry-View-61558131277290/ and https://www.instagram.com/theferryview/.