Memories of Sunderland: Amy’s Winehouse, the city’s most iconic off license

Amy’s Winehouse was an off license and convenience store located on St. Thomas’s Street, just off John Street in the city centre.

The name of the business was undoubtedly genius, and made it perhaps one of the most recognizable and amusing shops in all of Sunderland, even to the point of attracting attention elsewhere.

Amy’s Winehouse was known not just for selling alcohol and spirits, but also for its fantastic deals on obtaining discount products in the form of sweets, snacks and fizzy pop.

This made the store very popular with residents, as an old revenue reads: “Cheap for pop and snacks. Don’t waste £1.20 on pop in newsagents when there are usually 2 for £1 here“.

However, the store closed down for unspecified reasons a few years ago. After a change of ownership, the decision was then made in 2021 to rebrand the shop from its popular title to “Amy’s discount store”.

Needless to say, the new store did not survive either. The premises now remains empty and as of last year is “To let” again.

As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!