An abandoned late-Victorian sea-front tram-shelter in Sunderland has reopened as a restaurant following a three-year restoration.

The Grade II listed building at Seaburn was built in 1901, and had been used to shelter visitors during bad weather since trams stopped running in 1954.

It was one of three historic buildings restored under a £850,000 investment by Sunderland City Council and the Coastal Communities Fund, and has now been launched as The Tram Shelter restaurant by the team behind Blacks Corner bistro and deli in nearby East Boldon.

Jonny Dryden, who co-owns Blacks Corner, says: “The response has been incredible. When we launched the bookings, the volume of traffic actually crashed the site within five minutes, but we managed to get it back up and running and emailed everyone back. We’ve done so much to preserve the heritage of this site and keep the building going for another 100 years.“

The 40-cover restaurant has additional outdoor seating for warmer weather. The all-day menu focuses on brunch-style dishes served alongside coffee from the Ouseburn Coffee Company, with cocktails and natural wines coming to the fore in the evening.