Moving On: Stanger’s Current Premises

Change is on the menu for Jesmond’s Stanger’s Cookshop as Tuesday November 19th will see them join the expanding retail community on Brentwood Avenue after they leave their premises at St Georges Terrace. A lack of space in their current home and the promise of exciting new opportunities has led to owners Ben and Jessica Stanger-Crosby securing the larger premises in one of Jesmond’s most prominent shopping areas.

Stanger’s have been serving Jesmond’s culinary needs for the last three years and Ben told JesmondLocal that it’s the right time for a change of scenery: “Over the past four years Brentwood has become a very popular retail street, whilst last year’s closures of the butchers and uniform shop at St Georges have affected footfall in our current vicinity. The existing shop is also very small whereas the new premises are twice the size and will allow us to enter the gift market with new products.”

Ben Stanger-Crosby of Stanger’s Cookshop

Some of Jesmond’s retailers have struggled with business rates during the recession, and Stanger’s have been on the end of mild financial ill-fortune themselves. The rates at their current premises were doubled after the first six months of trading when the landlord made a small extension to the site and Ben feels that the rates at Brentwood will be more favourable. Ben is delighted to have secured a new home for the business and explained why he moved quickly to ensure the site didn’t reach the property market: “We’ve been looking at the shop for two and a half years – we wanted to be on Brentwood when we started but Jess has built a good brand locally and we’re hoping to welcome both new and existing customers and go from there.”

The new shop, which was formerly occupied by Lily White Bridal, will give Stanger’s the chance to ride the wave of cookery-related enthusiasm that has gripped the nation as the likes of The Great British Bake Off and Masterchef continue to tempt our culinary taste buds. Stanger’s are looking forward to the busy Christmas period and plan to utilise their new outdoor space in the spring to help expand their product range, whilst St Georges Terrace will face further changes to its retail line-up in the near future after planning permission was granted to turn the former Ernest Newson school uniform shop into an estate agents.