A COUPLE chosen to run the Redcar Beacon cafe are hoping for a successful summer season to get the business up and running.

The cafe/restaurant in the building - formerly better known as the vertical pier - is due to open in the spring.

And its opening has moved a significant step closer with the appointment of local restaurateurs Westbrook Restaurants to take charge of the new venture.

The cafe will be a “Seasons” restaurant, run by partners Ian Woodcock and Jane Gallogly.

She said: “Our name ‘Seasons’ reflects the fact that we use locally sourced, home produced food – so it is of course seasonal – we offer simple food done very well.

“We are passionate about the food we sell – including the tea and coffee all of our tea is loose leaf tea and our coffee is triple certified – Rainforest Alliance, Organic and Fairtrade.”

The Beacon forms a central part of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council’s seafront regeneration of the town.

Cabinet member for culture, leisure and tourism, Councillor Olwyn Peters said: “The Beacon is a landmark building at the heart of the new look seafront and we believe it will encourage visitors to come to Redcar to see what’s new on the horizon.”