View: Take a look around the new £4.5m Barker and Stonehouse store at Teesside Park

It’s ready!

And the £4.5m flagship Barker and Stonehouse store is sure to wow customers when it opens its doors to the public tomorrow.

Legendary cook Mary Berry is set to do the honours alongside managing director James Barker, whose grandfather founded the store.

The store is on the site of the old Springs gym at Teesside Park - a gateway to the retail destination.

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James, 48, who lives near Northallerton, said: “It’s been a lot of hard work - and a lot of hard work from the team.

“The staff have done a fantastic job.

“It’s been excellent to work with them and get that extra bit from the experience that makes it all worthwhile.

“We are all very excited about what we have achieved.”

Glass frontage and sides allows the 48,270sq ft store to be flooded with light.

Strand out features include a living wall - with a self sufficient water irrigation system coming from a 9,500 litre tank from the roof top - a cafe headed up by the former owner of renowned Norton eatery Cafe Lily and exposed steel girders weighing 270 tonnes.

In the near future there will also be a grassed roof terrace, overlooking the nearby Thornaby Golf Club course.

Much of the decor within the store has a reclaimed theme - with one wall covered in wood from ships in India.

Eye catching columns made from vintage books are another talking point along with gleaming polished concrete floors to tie in with the industrial theme.

The store is full of nods to the past - with the founder Charles Barker’s motorbike taking centre stage.

It signifies a full circle for the company - which now has stores nationwide - that has now ‘returned to its roots’ according to its sales blurb.

Barker and Stonehouse - which will have its new head office at the Teesside Park site - was formed during the second world war.

RAF men Charles Barker and Alex Stonehouse opened the first Barker and Stonehouse store on Bishopton Lane, Stockton, in early 1946.

They were joined by Charles’ brother, Frank Barker, in late 1946 when the first Middlesbrough store opened in Newport Road.

Customers will have the opportunity to attend Q&A sessions with Mary, win signed copies of her latest book and browse the new store throughout the day tomorrow, with the grand opening starting from 10am.