New £16.5m bakery for high street chain Greggs
Bakery chain Greggs has officially opened a £16.5m facility on Tyneside.
The site at Gosforth is one of 10 bases around the UK and will supply about 200 stores across the North East and Cumbria.
Featuring state-of-the-art ovens, it replaces the original bakery opened by Greggs in 1968 and secures 300 jobs.
Local dignitaries and company officials past and present took part in the opening ceremony, which also featured at a giant cake.
Chief executive Ken McMeikan said: "In these difficult economic times for the country I am delighted that we are continuing to invest here in the North East.
"The original Greggs bakery in Gosforth was such a milestone in Greggs history and it enabled us to open up many more shops to serve customers across the North East.
"The new bakery is a wonderful continuation of that legacy and a major part of our continued growth plans for the company."