New food-hall and restaurant planned in Dundrum Town Centre revamp

Dundrum Town Centre have been granted permission for a new food hall, restaurant and outdoor space. The shopping centre’s latest development will also be the location for fine food company Fallon and Byrne’s latest retail outlet.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council have granted permission for Dundrum Retail Partnership to develop a disused space, known as Pembroke Square, behind the centre’s theatre including a new Fallon & Byrne foodhall and restaurant.

Five vacant two-storey buildings on Ashgrove Terrace, located on Dundrum’s main street, will be refurbished as part of the development, which was approved after a local resident’s appeal to An Bord Pleanála was ruled invalid. A new two-storey building will be built at the rear of the existing vacant structures, connecting Ashgrove Terrace to the shopping centre’s Pembroke Square. This will create a 1,000 sq m restaurant and food hall, with entrances on the main street and the new square, as well as an outdoor seating area and a first-floor terrace.

The new Fallon & Byrne outlet will “reinvigorate a currently underutilised part of the centre” according to property giant Hammerson, the co-owner of Dundrum Town Centre, previously said that

The fine food company already operates a restaurant and retail space on Dublin’s Exchequer Street, as well as outlets in Dún Laoghaire and Rathmines. There are also plans to develop a smaller café or restaurant, a basement-level leisure or entertainment facility and a multipurpose outdoor space alongside the new retail space and restaurant. In the planning permission, it is suggested that the square could be used for events such as food and craft markets, exhibitions, an outdoor cinema, food and beverage stalls or retail concessions.

The plans were initially delayed due to the objections of a local resident but these were ruled invalid by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

International retailer The White Company open in Dublin

International retailer, The White Company, opened last week on Dublin’s Grafton Street.

The interiors and lifestyle brand began life as a 12-page mail-order brochure and has steadily become one of the UK’s fastest-growing multi-channel retailers. This will be the brand’s first Irish store. The global retail brand, which currently has a turnover in excess of £180m (€154m), said the decision to open on Grafton Street, Dublin, was based on very encouraging online sales here. They have leased 800sqm (8,527 sq ft) over three floors on a long-term lease.

The store will stock the brand’s full lifestyle offering across women’s lounge and sleepwear, products for the home and dining, bed and bath, fragrances, skincare as well as ‘The Little White Company’ clothing for children and nursery essentials.

The brand’s founder, Chrissie Rucker started The White Company in 1994 when she was unable to find well-designed, quality bed linen in her favourite colour, so decided to invest her £6,000 (€5,150) savings into producing everything in one colour – white.

Last year The White Company opened its first international flagship store in New York, followed by a second store in New Jersey. The Dublin store is their first European flagship outside the UK, where they have 57 stores. The White Company has a discount store at the Kildare Village Outlet Mall.

Ms Rucker, who left school at 16, has a passion for all things white and says “we are obsessive about the details, and believe beautiful things should be loved and used every day”.

The new Dublin home is located besides Boodles jewellers, close to the South Anne Street junction. The building was formerly home to the Karen Millen fashion label. It was a cinema from 1911 until the 1970s. It was acquired by Irish property investment group Iput PLC in 2014 for €12.5m and has been restored to highlighting the white curved-vaulted ceiling.

Grocery market heats up thanks to good weather

The soaring temperatures have had a positive impact on the Irish grocery market, increasing sales of summer grocery favourites by 9% ahead of an overall market growth of 2.1%.

A surge in summer essentials, such as sun care products and ice cream, has boosted the Irish grocery sector by €27 million according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel. Sales of ice cream, barbeque foods and sun care products have rocketed by 12%, 10% and 8% respectively compared to this time last year. Alcoholic drinks have also experienced a surge in demand – cider has seen impressive growth of 14% and beers and lagers are up 5%. According to Dave Berry, director of Kantar Worldpanel, “The influence of the hot weather on sales of summer essentials looks even more impressive when you compare this to overall market growth at 2.1%.”

In the latest standings in the supermarket wars, which deal with the 12 weeks to 17 May 2018, Tesco remains the leader, increasing its market share to 22.4 %, a jump of .3%. The retailer experienced sales growth of 3.7%, with 1.3 million shoppers choosing to shop there and upping their average spend by .80c to €25.50. SuperValu stands in second position, capturing 21.8% of Irish shoppers’ grocery spend, experiencing sales growth of 0.1%. The retailer continues to have a loyal customer following, with consumers shopping more frequently at SuperValu stores.

Dunnes Stores also saw growth during the 12 weeks, posting sales growth of 2.6% and has increased its market share by 0.1 percentage points. The grocer’s success has come from encouraging shoppers to up the value of their baskets to an average of €42.60 – an increase of over €2.50 compared to this time last year. The discounters also performed well with Lidl holding a market share of 11.7% – its highest since October 2017 while Aldi has upped its share to 11.4%, thanks to sales growth of 2.4%, Aldi. Both grocers have performed particularly well in Munster, where they continue to challenge the other major retailers.

May retail sales up 4.3% compared to last year

There was a 4.3% increase in the volume of retail sales during May 2018 compared to the same month last year, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office.

Seasonally adjusted, the volume of retail sales increased by 0.1 per cent in the month of May, when adjusted seasonally. Excluding motor trades, there was an increase of 1.5% in the volume of retail sales in May in comparison to April, and there was an increase of 4.7% in the annual figure. The sectors that saw the largest increases in monthly volume were hardware, paints and glass which saw an increase of 8.9%, no doubt helped by the recovery in homebuilding activity. Sales of furniture and lighting are up 6 per cent on the year and electrical goods are up 8.3%. Department stores sales are up 6.4 per cent and non-specialised stores (including supermarkets) sales increased by 4.8 per cent.per cent. Books, newspapers and stationery also saw growth of 4.3 per cent.

There was an annual increase of 3.7 per cent when compared with May 2017 but a slight decrease of 0.4% in the value of retail sales in May when compared with April.
Irish consumer spending is set for “another solid increase”, driven by positive developments in the jobs market and household earnings according to analysis from the Davy Group.
“Once again the best performing sectors are those which suffered badly during the recession, big-ticket items and discretionary purchases, where spending is now bouncing back,” according to the group. “Looking forward, we expect Irish consumer spending to record 3.2 per cent growth in 2018 after the 1.9 per cent rise in 2017 and 3 per cent growth in 2019.”

Speaking to the Irish Times, Alan McQuaid, an economist with Merrion Stockbrokers, said retail sales “remain erratic” on a monthly basis and that while they are “still swinging back and forth”, the underlying trend is “positive”. “Even with the fluctuation in consumer sentiment, overall personal spending has been positive in the past couple of years, boosted by the increase in the numbers employed in the country,” he said.

Dublin restaurant Etto takes top spot at Irish Restaurant awards

Dublin’s Etto has been crowned Ireland’s Restaurant of the Year 2018.

The winning restaurant, located on Merrion Row, has taken home the award for Best Casual Dining Experience for the past four years. The restaurant also took home Best Customer Service award while head chef Barry Sun Jian took home the award for Best Chef in Dublin at the awards run by the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) earlier this week. Etto was opened in 2013 by Simon Barrett and Liz Matthews. Announcing the award, the RAI said: “Etto offers a daily changing, seasonal menu, served in a relaxed and informal environment and describe its dishes as honest and simple, using ingredients from local producers and suppliers where possible.” The prestigious award for All Ireland Best Chef went to Jess Murphy, head chef and co-owner of Kai Café Restaurant in Galway. Kai was also singled out for Best Digital Marketing.

The awards are now in their 10th year, received more than 90,000 online nominations were received for Irish restaurants and other hospitality businesses. Along with the public vote and votes from industry experts, winners were decided by judging panel assessment at regional level and by mystery inspections at National level. More than 1,000 restaurateurs, chefs and industry figures attended the All Ireland finals of the awards in Dublin on Monday night. A team of chefs, including several previous winners of the Best Chef title, cooked a six-course dinner for the finale at the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road. The kitchen team included well known chefs included Gary O’Hanlon, of ‘The Restaurant’ fame and Danni Barry, whose restaurant, Clenaghans, took the Best Newcomer national title. Bistro in Waterford, and Elena Martinez of Crover House Hotel.

Liam Edwards, president of the RAI, said: “As an industry, the restaurateurs, pub-owners and entrepreneurs of Ireland continue to defy the odds. You strive to create jobs, expand upon Ireland’s understanding of food standards and world cuisine, all while maintaining exemplary customer service. Your support of Irish produce has never been greater and for this you should be wholeheartedly applauded.”

NATIONAL AND ALL IRELAND WINNERS

Best Gastro Pub:

Dublin – The Legal Eagle

Connaught – Cronin’s Sheebeen

Leinster – Lennons Gastro Pub

Munster – Moorings

Ulster – The Brewer’s House

All-Ireland – The Legal Eagle

Best Hotel & Guesthouse Restaurant:

Dublin – The Marker Hotel

Connaught – Wilde’s at The Lodge

Leinster – Ballyfin Demesne

Munster – Park Hotel Kenmare

Ulster – Newforge House

All-Ireland – Park Hotel Kenmare

Best Newcomer winners:

Dublin – Michael’s Mount Merrion

Connaught – Hooked

Leinster – Barrows Keep

Munster – Dooks Fine Foods Fethard

Ulster – Clenaghans

All-Ireland – Clenaghans

Best Cafe winners:

Dublin – Honey Truffle

Connaught – Pudding Row

Leinster – Strandfield Café

Munster – Maison Gourmet

Ulster – The Jolly Sandwich Bar

All-Ireland – Pudding Row

Best Wine Experience winners:

Dublin – Piglet Wine Bar

Connaught – Aniar Restaurant and Boutique Cookery School

Leinster – La Touche Wines 4 U

Munster – The Black Pig

Ulster – Ox Cave

All-Ireland – Piglet Wine Bar

Best World Cuisine winners:

Dublin – Nightmarket

Connaught – MoMA Restaurant

Leinster – Pink Salt Indian Restaurant

Munster – Palmento

Ulster – Tuk Tuk Asian Bistro

All-Ireland – Nightmarket

Best Kids Size Me winners:

Dublin – Michael’s Mount Merrion

Connaught – Gather Restaurant

Leinster – Platform Pizza Bar

Munster – GROW HQ Café and Food Education Centre

Ulster – Amici

All-Ireland – Michaels Mount Merrion

Best Local Food Hero winners:

Dublin – Jenny & Patrick McNally of McNally Family Farm

All-Ireland – Mark Murphy & Mark Doe of The Apprentice Chef Programme

Best Casual Dining winners:

Dublin – Hey Donna

Connaught – Gather Restaurant

Leinster – Truffles Restaurant & Wine Bar

Munster – Pilgrim’s

Ulster – Shu Restaurant Belfast

All-Ireland – Pilgrim’s

Best Emerging Irish Cuisine winners:

Dublin – Craft Restaurant

Connaught – Tartare Café + Wine Bar

Leinster – Kernel Bar & Kitchen

Munster – Sage Restaurant

Ulster – 28 Darling St

All-Ireland – Craft Restaurant

Best Restaurant Manager winners:

Dublin – Talha Pasha of Michael’s Mount Merrion

Connaught – Lee Hanifa of The Cottage Restaurant

Leinster – Joanne Harding of the Aldridge Lodge

Munster – Sally O’Brien of Farmgate Restaurant and Country Store

Ulster – Saul McConnell of NOBLE. Holywood

All-Ireland – Sally O’Brien of Farmgate Restaurant and Country Store

Best ‘Free From’ winners:

Dublin – I Monelli

Connaught – Sweet Beat Café

Leinster – Zucchini’s Restaurant

Munster – Nutrilicious Food Co

Ulster – The Dirty Duck

All-Ireland – Sweet Beat Café

Best Customer Service winners:

Dublin – Etto

Connaught – House of Plates

Leinster – Roundwood House

Munster – The Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge

Ulster – Harvey’s Point

All-Ireland – Harvey’s Point

Pub of the Year winners:

Dublin – Walshs Stoneybatter

Connaught – Flynns Bar

Leinster – Morrisseys

Munster – Murphy’s Bar Brandon

Ulster – Tomneys Bar

All-Ireland – Walshs Stoneybatter

Best Chef winners:

Dublin – Barry Sun Jian of Etto

Connaught – Jess Murphy of Kai Restaurant

Leinster – Sam Moody at Ballyfin Demesne

Munster – Aidan McGrath of Wild Honey Inn

Ulster – Chris McGowan of Wine & Brine

All-Ireland – Jess Murphy of Kai Restaurant

Best Restaurant winners:

Dublin – Etto

Connaught – Cian’s on Bridge Street

Leinster – TwoCooks Restaurant & Wine Bar

Munster – Mews Restaurant

Ulster – The Muddlers Club

All-Ireland – Etto

National winners:

Best Private Dining & Club Restaurant – Locks Windsor Terrace

Best Cocktail Experience – The Sidecar at The Westbury

Best Cookery School – MacNean House & Restaurant

Best Seafood Experience – Klaw Seafood Restaurant

Best Digital Marketing – Kai Restaurant

 

 

Ballyfin Demesne named Irish hotel of the year

 

Ballyfin Demesne has been named the AA’s hotel of the year 2018.

The five star hotel in Co. Laois is a former boarding school which underwent an extensive nine-year restoration before opening as a luxury hotel in 2011. It stands on 600 acres of grounds and is home to a series of formal gardens designed by Jim Reynolds. The hotel was previously voted best hotel in the world in 2016 by readers of US travel magazine Conde Nast Traveler.

The B&B rate at Ballyfin starts at €960 for a double room, running to €1,710 for the best suite in the house. Most guests, however, opt for the full board package (from €1,275 for two people), which includes lunch or afternoon tea on arrival, cocktail hour, dinner in the State Dining Room or the Van Der Hagan Room, and breakfast the following morning.

Until 2015, Ballyfin was open only to residents, however reservations are now accepted for dinner for groups of up to six guests, who have variety of menu options to choose from, costing from €105 for three-courses à la carte, to €125 for an eight-course tasting menu.

Shane Ross, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, presenting the award to Ballyfin’s general manager Damien Bastiat in Dublin last night, said: “The story of Irish tourism over the last 10 years has been one of hard work and perseverance to get through the troubled times of the economic downturn in order to come out the other side as a thriving industry. “Ballyfin Demesne, with its welcoming staff and steep history only highlights the best of what the hospitality industry offers to visitors from at home and abroad.”

The other main award winners were Aldridge Lodge in Duncannon, Co Wexford (AA Guest House Accommodation of the Year), and The Twelve hotel in Barna, Co Galway (AA Courtesy and Care award).

retaiil news

Q1 retail sales show full effects of the ‘Beast from the East’

New research into retail sales in the first part the year have revealed the full extent of the disruption caused by March’s ‘Beast from the East’ on the retail industry.

The latest figures from the retail representative group, Retail Excellence Ireland (REI), show that despite the improving economy, like-for-like sales were down 1.2 per cent in March, and a fifth of 1 per cent overall in the first quarter compared to the year previous. This decline comes despite the improving economy and a comparative boost to first-quarter sales by Easter falling in March, compared to April in 1017.

REI’s chief executive, David Fitzsimons, said the bad weather negatively impacted most on the 19 retail sectors examined in its first-quarter Productivity Review, which it produces in association with research firm GfK and Grant Thornton. It collates electronic sales data directly from the tills of retailers. “What is very clear is that the Irish retail industry is in a significant state of flux,” he said.

In terms of specific sectors, garden centres performed the worst, with sales down 15.8% in the first three months of the year when compared to 2017- for obvious weather-related reasons. IT and computing products saw a 17 per cent decline but were saved from a further fall by the early Easter period. IT sales, including computers and tablets, have dropped off hugely. In volume terms they were down 11% and 17 per cent in value terms Jewellery sales were down for all three months in the quarter, as were lingerie, ladieswear and menswear sales.

Among the best performing sectors were health stores (up 4%), small home appliances (up 6%) and furniture and flooring (up 3.6 % over the quarter). Grocery sales were up 1.1% which was “spurred on by Easter trading”, said Mr Fitzsimons. The rate of monthly growth in the sector actually increased in March, which may well have been partly due to bread sales.

New 134 room hotel planned for Galway

Press Up Entertainment, Ireland’s largest and fastest growing pub and restaurant group, are said to have acquired a site in Galway with planning permission for a 134-bedroom hotel.

The site is located near Prospect Hill received planning permission for a hotel last year following an application by Highgate Properties. It is understood Press Up paid €4.5 million for the land. In addition to the bedrooms, there is permission for two bars within the building, which will ultimately have a total gross floor area of 5,310sq m. The acquisition comes as Press Up eye opportunities to expand into the UK market in the near future.

Press Up is the largest restaurant and venue group in the country and the group behind well-known restaurants such as Captain America’s, Roberta’s and the Dean Hotel. Press Up, which last year had a turnover of about €52 million, has said it hopes to open at least nine new hospitality venues over the coming year, including the Devlin hotel in Ranelagh, Dublin, which will open in the summer.

The group is also reported to be developing a 140-bedroom hotel in Cork. It is also planning a revamp of former private members’ club Residence on St Stephen’s Green, which it purchased recently. In addition, Press Up will soon open a cocktail bar in a three-storey building on Dublin’s Aungier Street, which company documents suggest will be called The Dutch Billy. The group’s other recent purchases include the well-known Elephant & Castle restaurant business in Temple Bar.

Supermacs to create 200 jobs with 3 new restaurants

Irish fast food chain Supermacs is set to open three new outlets in Cork, creating 200 new jobs.

The popular fast food brand, run by Pat McDonagh, will open a new franchise outlet at Ballyvolane within three weeks and will include a Supermacs, a Papa John’s Pizza, and a drive-thru. Another franchise outlet will open at the Amber filling station on the N71 Bandon Road, near the Bandon Road roundabout, in approximately six weeks, while the Supermacs group will operate the new Tivoli outlet, which is due to open within three months. The new units are part of a nationwide six-outlet expansion of the Supermacs group. By June, the brand will have 13 the number of outlets in Cork city and county, and to 114 the number of outlets nationwide.

“We have had an outlet on the North Main St for several years and had been looking at opportunities in the city for some time but the business has changed over the 10 years or so,” said Mr McDonagh. “There has been a fall-off in pubs and nightclubs, so we looked at the city outskirts for ease of access and drive-thrus. We are also examining potential opportunities in the West Cork region over the next year or two. “We have career opportunities at all levels and we are looking for managers, store managers, assistant managers and catering assistants. We have a structured career path in place for staff which leads to store manager positions as well as site and area managers. We want people that will stay with us and develop with us. “To date, over 150 new promoted managers were awarded QQI Level 5 certificates in Management which they achieved through work-based training in their own outlets.”He said employers face new challenges in recruiting staff, most of whom were born in the late 1990s, but he insisted the salary is competitive, starting at the minimum wage and rising incrementally. And he said between 60% and 70% of their franchisees come from within the group.

Mr McDonagh, a former teacher who was nicknamed Supermac on the GAA field, opened his first fast-food outlet in Ballinasloe, Co Galway, almost 40 years ago. Today, his empire, which is worth a reported €110m, employs more than 2,700 people nationwide.

Macy's

US department store Macy’s to introduce mobile checkout-free shopping

US department store Macy’s to introduce mobile checkout-free shopping

Major US department chain Macy’s have announced plans to introduce a new mobile checkout platform within their stores. The platform will allow customers to skip the checkout and pay using their smartphone. Customers will be able to by scan bar codes on items with their phone within the Macy’s mobile app.

The feature will be first introduced in the brand’s Bloomingdale’s store in New York’s Soho neighbourhood and is expected in all Macy’s stores by the end of this year. . To use the service, customers will need to download the free Macy’s app and join Macy’s free Wi-Fi network. As they browse the assortment, customers can scan the items they wish to purchase using their phone’s camera and the app’s built-in scanner. As part of Macy’s ongoing price simplification strategy, the app will easily allow customers to apply relevant offers and rewards to eligible purchases. Once they are ready to checkout, they can pay on the app with their pre-registered credit card to complete the transaction.

From there, customers will be directed to special Mobile Checkout counters set up in close proximity to store exits to have sales assistants verify the purchase, remove security tags, and bag their items.

“As part of our ‘test, iterate and scale’ model for innovation, we are excited to expand our launch of Mobile Checkout powered by the Macy’s app, providing our customers with the opportunity to self-serve and speed their transactions with us in-store,” said Jeff Gennette, Macy’s, Inc. chairman and chief executive officer. “We think of the Macy’s app as a key we hand to our customers, a key that allows them to unlock an enhanced shopping experience – a world of possibilities. With this powerful tool in hand, we give them the opportunity to engage with us on their terms. And we keep adding exciting new features to it based on what they tell us.”

Macy’s is one of America’s most iconic retailers. The company employs over 130,000 people and operates more than 690 department stores under it’s Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s brand long with 160 specialty stores that include Bloomingdale’s The Outlet, Bluemercury and Macy’s Backstage.