Indian restaurateur Ravi Dhugga has snapped up Joe Rigatoni’s, a riverside restaurant near the centre of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear.
Dhugga, who also owns the Spice Bollywood restaurant in the Metro Centre in Gateshead, will reopen his newest acquisition as an Indian restaurant.
The property has been run as an Italian eaterie for the three years by the seller, Paolo Aceri.
The 95-seat restaurant occupies a five-storey converted wharf building on Low Street, Wylam Wharf in the East End of Sunderland and can offer parking for 20 cars.
It retains a number of character features such as stone floors, exposed brickwork, wooden ceiling beams, and spiral staircase. To the front and side, the restaurant has an enclosed, decked patio area for alfresco dining.
The area has benefited from significant investment in recent years, including the £4.7m conversion of the Grade II-listed Quayside Exchange building into the region’s premier conference centre.
The Newcastle office of Christie & Co sold the remaining 22-year lease for more than the £150,000 asking price.