Si King has announced plans to open a new restaurant that could welcome guests by the end of the year.

The Hairy Biker shared the news alongside venture partner Richard Marsden, managing director of Building Design Northern (BDN) Ltd.

The restaurant, ‘PROPA!’, will be based at Sheepfolds Stables in Sunderland and will recreate the nostalgia of ‘having a pie and pint before the match’, but with an additional gourmet twist.

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Si, who opened an oncology unit at Hexham General Hospital last week, said: “This will be a totally new yet complimentary offering for Sheepfolds Stables and one that we’re confident will go down very well with all who visit.

"We’re taking people back down memory lane, becoming a custodian of nostalgic food, including for those going to the football where a pie and a pint before the game was, and still is, a must."

The restaurant announcement was made as part of Sunderland Business Festival, an annual event which sees thousands of the region’s business community descend on the city for a week-long programme of events.

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The TV chef added: “Our focus is very much on creating and serving wholesome, tasty comfort food using the very best ingredients, and these will be sourced from producers local to the city and region.

"Some of the dishes we’re putting on the menu go back generations and are somewhat native to Sunderland and the North East area, so we’re really excited to get started.”

The restaurant, to be located to the left of the courtyard in the existing stables buildings, is anticipated to be open by the end of the year or early 2025, with the first stages of fit-out works on site now started.

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"Sheepfolds Stables is a truly unique hospitality space that has attracted some amazing independent food and drink operators already, so we’re looking to add to that but in a slightly different, more traditional culinary way.

“However, it’s also important for PROPA! to work alongside the local community wherever possible, so we’re currently exploring ways in which we can partner with charities that need support at a very grass-roots level to ensure that any excess food is not wasted and instead, distributed throughout the community.”

Sheepfolds Stables, a £4m development, launched in August this year and has welcomed tens of thousands of people through its gates in the first three months since opening.