Bosses will be welcoming three independent businesses to The Waterfront as part of the centre’s £100m investment plan.

The new venues will create 29 new jobs for the local area and are the latest openings adding to the drinking and dining offering at The Waterfront following on from the successful launch of The Garrison, a Peaky Blinders themed bar, last year.

The three venues, ‘Dr Eamer’s Gin Emporium‘, ‘10 Steps Coffee’ and live entertainment bar ‘Red by Night’, will be offering home grown entertainment and delicious refreshments to shoppers and staff.

Dr Eamers' Distillery Bar Dr Eamers' Distillery Bar will be a first-of-its-kind bar for the family run Black Country business, which lovingly handcrafts small batches of award-winning gin in Dudley. The bar will also offer classes, demonstrations, tastings and a selection of nibbles and bar food. The venue will feature a striking 20 ft. statement bar crafted out of recycled copper offcuts and their 100-litre Copper Pot Still, Doris, will be situated within the bar, distilling their award-winning gin. As well as a range of exclusive gins there will be locally produced beers, craft ales and cocktails. Dr Eamers' Distillery Bar is planned to open in October and will create 10 new jobs.

Red by Night Red by Night is a brand-new live entertainment venue, which will be opening at the Waterfront this autumn. Red by Night is passionate about fostering local and upcoming talent around the live entertainment scene and plans to continue to work with like-minded people in and around the local area. The venue will showcase a wide range of events and entertainment, including all genres of music, comedy and the arts, with open mic nights for upcoming talent and full sound and light systems for larger established bands. With a friendly atmosphere for afternoons and early evenings, and a capacity of over 350 for evening shows, the venue is being designed and fully equipped to offer maximum flexibility. Approximately £250,000 has been invested into the refurbishment and the bar will generate an estimated 15 new jobs for the region.

Ten Steps Coffee Lounge Ten Steps Coffee Lounge will be opening to offer rest and relaxation for those headed into work at the centre and during their lunch breaks. The coffee lounge is a new family-run business, and will serve freshly brewed premium types of coffee, hot beverages, vegan treats and baked goods and will be opening the doors at its new venue in mid to late September, creating four jobs. Jaspal Singh, Asset Surveyor at intu Merry Hill said:

“The Waterfront is one of the treasures of our centre and we’re really excited about its continued growth as a leisure destination for our customers. Our shoppers have been really positive so far and we are looking forward to continuing to share more about the announcements and events we’ve got lined up in the near future.

“The Waterfront will also be holding another street food festival in September as the last one went down so well with visitors, and we’d encourage customers to keep an eye out for further details.”