Queen of cakes Mary Berry will open the new £4.5m Barker and Stonehouse store onTeesside Retail Park.
The baking legend, who has hosted several hugely popular TV shows and written more than 80 cookery books, will open the store on Saturday, March 28, at 10am.
Customers will have the opportunity to attend Q&A sessions with her and win signed copies of her latest book.
She said: "I’ve always had such fantastic support from people in the region and am really looking forward to spending the day with customers and discovering everything the new store has to offer.”
James Barker, managing director of Barker and Stonehouse, said: “Mary Berry is an icon of British cooking. She is hugely popular with such a wide range of people and I would think that many households up and down the country own at least one of her cook books. We’re thrilled to have her on board to open our store, it will make for a very special day indeed.”
The store stands at the entrance to Teesside Retail Park and will feature an in-store café, two floors of retail space spread over 48,270sqft and a car park for nearly 100 cars.
Archial Norr Architects designed the store in close consultation with the Barker and Stonehouse design team and Dennis McLuckie of McLuckie Projects. The group also worked together on the design of the Barker and Stonehouse Knaresborough store which opened in December 2012 to environmental acclaim and has a bream energy and environmental rating of "very good".
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here