Businesses/Shops opening in Cork city/suburbs.

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Nigel Fairservice wrote: »

My mother would bring us into Porters in town very often when I was a child. The shop looks like it has seen better days these days. I think Easons in Douglas Court was a Porters when it first opened in 1990? Could be imagining it now. There is one in Kilkenny as well. Didn't know there were branches outside Cork.

I would have to agree - the shop is also quite small and it's trading there as Porters for quite a long time. Porters at Douglas Court and Wilton were both acquired by Easons which was expected to result in an increase of €5 million in turnover following this move. Yeah I gather they also had a presence outside of Cork in places such as Co. Galway & Kilkenny and perhaps other locations over the years.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/eason-buys-two-new-cork-stores-to-close-chapter-on-tricky-year-1.1968056?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fretail-and-services%2Feason-buys-two-new-cork-stores-to-close-chapter-on-tricky-year-1.1968056

ongarboy

Nigel Fairservice wrote: »

My mother would bring us into Porters in town very often when I was a child. The shop looks like it has seen better days these days. I think Easons in Douglas Court was a Porters when it first opened in 1990? Could be imagining it now. There is one in Kilkenny as well. Didn't know there were branches outside Cork.

There was one in Tralee back in the 80s too.

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ongarboy wrote: »

There was one in Tralee back in the 80s too.

That does not surprise me at all as Tralee is the main town for County Kerry. Easons, Dunnes Stores, Penney's all there over the years. Roches Stores (now Debenhams) arrived in the out of town, Manor West Retail Park in latter years.

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leahyl wrote: »

It would be so nice to have these kinds of shops on the main street in town - a nice bakery and a shop with fresh fruit and veg....have a variety of stores, there's plenty of retail as it is

Some people might say that the English Market caters for all this but; thinking back we had a huge choice of local bakeries and their shops, fruit & veg, butchers, cafés, public bars & lounges and then there was Roches Stores which had a large store in Patrick Street, Merchant's Quay, former Merchant's Street and Maylor Street! Roches Stores were in all the major urban centres over the years and it had another branch out in Wilton Shopping Centre although; it was not a patch on Patrick Street!

Roches Stores stocked almost everything you would ever need from a shoe lace to spool of thread, make-up, men's trousers to ladies dresses, lino to carpet, wardrobe to coffee table, gardening implements to seeds, supermarket groceries, leisure equipment to toys & games, household goods, homeware etc;

SusieBlue

I'd love to see somewhere akin to Bewleys in Dublin go onto Patrick St. A more traditional option for a hot drink and a cake/scone with proper, comfortable seating would go down a treat I think.
People are sick of Starbucks and the like, they're so impersonal, cold and uncomfortable. Not somewhere you can sit for an hour or two catching up with friends.

leahyl

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

Some people might say that the English Market caters for all this but; thinking back we had a huge choice of local bakeries and their shops, fruit & veg, butchers, cafés, public bars & lounges and then there was Roches Stores which had a large store in Patrick Street, Merchant's Quay, former Merchant's Street and Maylor Street! Roches Stores were in all the major urban centres over the years and it had another branch out in Wilton Shopping Centre although; it was not a patch on Patrick Street!

Roches Stores stocked almost everything you would ever need from a shoe lace to spool of thread, make-up, men's trousers to ladies dresses, lino to carpet, wardrobe to coffee table, gardening implements to seeds, supermarket groceries, leisure equipment to toys & games, household goods, homeware etc;

Absolutely, Roches was fabulous - they had everything. My mum worked there for years and the management were so good to customers. They'd take back things even without a receipt! Oh those were the days. I used to love going to the toys section! My mum always talks about Thompsons too and said they had the most delicious long jam and cream donuts - nicer than any of the ones you'd get today....mmmm making myself hungry now. An old style bakery cafe with fancy ceilings, like Bewleys, would be great. Just to add a bit of the old character back into the street - don't get me wrong, I'm all for progression and new shops but I think a mix between old and new is the way to go.

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SusieBlue wrote: »

I'd love to see somewhere akin to Bewleys in Dublin go onto Patrick St. A more traditional option for a hot drink and a cake/scone with proper, comfortable seating would go down a treat I think.
People are sick of Starbucks and the like, they're so impersonal, cold and uncomfortable. Not somewhere you can sit for an hour or two catching up with friends.

Yeah I would agree as Debenham's Restaurant never managed to develop the former Roches Stores Restaurant where you had such a job to get a seat back in the day. They took out a load of seating in subsequent years and it's still empty even at lunchtimes.The food offering options even at Lunchtime is so lacking these days.

Bewley's once had a coffee shop in Cork but it's long gone. I think it is facing a tough challenge with it's Grafton Street premises in Dublin.

"Bewley's future: Café 'not viable' if its top floors kept vacant"
https://www.independent.ie/business/commercial-property/bewleys-future-caf-not-viable-if-its-top-floors-kept-vacant-38704703.html

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leahyl wrote: »

Absolutely, Roches was fabulous - they had everything. My mum worked there for years and the management were so good to customers. They'd take back things even without a receipt! Oh those were the days. I used to love going to the toys section! My mum always talks about Thompsons too and said they had the most delicious long jam and cream donuts - nicer than any of the ones you'd get today....mmmm making myself hungry now. An old style bakery cafe with fancy ceilings, like Bewleys, would be great. Just to add a bit of the old character back into the street - don't get me wrong, I'm all for progression and new shops but I think a mix between old and new is the way to go.

My mother worked in Roches Stores too until she got married but she always frequented the store down thru the years. Thompson's Bakery was up on McCurtain Street right opposite The Metropole Hotel. I recall Thompson's also had cake shops around the city centre and their cakes would be supplied to Roches Stores cake shop and coffee bar. Roches Café had cakes like long cream doughnut with jam, chocolate eclair, russian log, apple slice, pyramid, custard slice, cream slice, selection of sandwiches, ice cream and tea/coffee & soft drinks. You did not have hot food like soup/dinners/mixed grill until much later when the café moved upstairs and eventually expanded it's floor space. Cork had so many bakeries such as McCarthy's Daunt Square, Thompson's, Hadden's South Main Street, Fitzgerald's Tramore Road, Donnelly's, O'Keeffe's, Healy's, O'Dowd's Kinsale, Mother's Pride, Old Mill etc;

ABC (Alternative Bread Company) and also Hassett's in English Market do nice produce

Cafés like Bracken's, The Green Door on Academy Street, Charlie Duggan's Liberty Street (The Raven extension was Duggan's), O'Brien's (not sandwich chain of same name) on Washington Street & McCurtain Street which had fancy ice cream parlour.

bingo9999

Shtap lads, this nostalgia is pulling the heart strings.

Its funny that we all want these things but they dont seem to be provided (or last). I would love to have a whack of money and fill up the empty units around the city with these types of businesses again. I assume you'd make money given how everyone talks, but I suppose if that was true they probably never would have disappeared

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The waft of hops coming from the former Beamish & Crawford brewery as you walked down the end of Barrack Street or along Sullivan's Quay, French's Quay, Proby's Quay and South Main Street. Heading out of St. Francis Church after Sunday Mass and the smell of baking coming from Charlie Duggan's Cake Shop was a joy & delight and the same if you passed The Green Door on Academy Street! Some may recall that The Green Door was originally up the outside steps over Le Chateau and it had a Front Door painted green with a Georgian style entrance. In later years it moved across the street to ground level and was very popular in it's heyday. The staff serving you in white coats at McCarthy's cake shops! Some customs/fashion from previous era can have a habit of repeating itself in a revised twist. Also recall "The Farm House" chain of cake shops and I forgot Harrington's/Choice Foods confectionery and the "chester cake". Farm House had various branches in Cork such as Oliver Plunkett Street, near South Gate Bridge, located within the old VG Supermarket on Togher Road (now Ryan's SuperValu near The Lough)

https://www.thompsonhouse.ie/history/

New restaurant called "The Glass Curtain" restaurant opened in December 2019 at the former Thompson's bakery in Cork City Centre on McCurtain Street.
A mile of Swiss roll a day was baked and packed in former bakery that now houses a 36-seat restaurant

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/new-restaurant-opens-in-former-cork-city-centre-bakery-1.4103424?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Flife-and-style%2Ffood-and-drink%2Fnew-restaurant-opens-in-former-cork-city-centre-bakery-1.4103424

leahyl

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

The waft of hops coming from the former Beamish & Crawford brewery as you walked down the end of Barrack Street or along Sullivan's Quay, French's Quay, Proby's Quay and South Main Street. Heading out of St. Francis Church after Sunday Mass and the smell of baking coming from Charlie Duggan's Cake Shop was a joy & delight and the same if you passed The Green Door on Academy Street! Some may recall that The Green Door was originally up the outside steps over Le Chateau and it had a Front Door painted green with a Georgian style entrance. In later years it moved across the street to ground level and was very popular in it's heyday. The staff serving you in white coats at McCarthy's cake shops! Some customs/fashion from previous era can have a habit of repeating itself in a revised twist. Also recall "The Farm House" chain of cake shops and I forgot Harrington's/Choice Foods confectionery and the "chester cake". Farm House had various branches in Cork such as Oliver Plunkett Street, near South Gate Bridge, located within the old VG Supermarket on Togher Road (now Ryan's SuperValu near The Lough)

https://www.thompsonhouse.ie/history/

New restaurant called "The Glass Curtain" restaurant opened in December 2019 at the former Thompson's bakery in Cork City Centre on McCurtain Street.
A mile of Swiss roll a day was baked and packed in former bakery that now houses a 36-seat restaurant

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/new-restaurant-opens-in-former-cork-city-centre-bakery-1.4103424?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Flife-and-style%2Ffood-and-drink%2Fnew-restaurant-opens-in-former-cork-city-centre-bakery-1.4103424

Wow that was great to read about Thompsons Surely, with all the popularity of cake shops/patisseries around Europe, something like this to open again would do really well?? With our own "irish" cakes like the cream slice, long donuts etc. - obviously it wouldn't open in the same place but somewhere on Patrick Street would be amazing - like where Quills was - that's a beautiful building.

Better stop dragging this thread off topic with imaginary shops :pac:

igCorcaigh

The fresh orange juice in Roches, the cafe across the street while you waited for the collection point...

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leahyl wrote: »

Wow that was great to read about Thompsons Surely, with all the popularity of cake shops/patisseries around Europe, something like this to open again would do really well?? With our own "irish" cakes like the cream slice, long donuts etc. - obviously it wouldn't open in the same place but somewhere on Patrick Street would be amazing - like where Quills was - that's a beautiful building.

Better stop dragging this thread off topic with imaginary shops :pac:

Quills went into the same building at 106/107 Patrick Street that was once T R LESTER Ltd chemist and I've seen an advertisement for Lester's dating back to 1871 so it was at least 100 years trading at 107 Patrick Street! Quills opened around early/mid '90's and closed down around 2014.

See Page 20/21 on this fascinating photo collection of businesses opened in Cork City Centre long ago
http://www.corkarchives.ie/media/PH-AB-SK-webalbum3-_Part7.pdf

I gather there are new plans for this building following it's purchase by the Savoy's owners, the Clarendon Group. It would really boost this side/end of Patrick Street if it was fully operational again. I wonder if Eason's would ever want to relocate there if Clarendon Group was interested in selling it?

leahyl

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

Quills went into the same building at 106/107 Patrick Street that was once T R LESTER Ltd chemist and I've seen an advertisement for Lester's dating back to 1871 so it was at least 100 years trading at 107 Patrick Street! Quills opened around early/mid '90's and closed down around 2014.

See Page 20/21 on this fascinating photo collection of businesses opened in Cork City Centre long ago
http://www.corkarchives.ie/media/PH-AB-SK-webalbum3-_Part7.pdf

I gather there are new plans for this building following it's purchase by the Savoy's owners, the Clarendon Group. It would really boost this side/end of Patrick Street if it was fully operational again. I wonder if Eason's would ever want to relocate there if Clarendon Group was interested in selling it?

My mum worked in Lesters too

Yes, I actually looked up those photos already and have been looking at them all morning I should be working!

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leahyl wrote: »

My mum worked in Lesters too

Yes, I actually looked up those photos already and have been looking at them all morning I should be working!

I think one of my late aunts on my mother's side of family studied pharmacy and either trained or worked at T. R. LESTER Ltd for a time back in the day which was probably late 1940's/early 1950's. She later went on to work at Cork Chemical & Drug Company (long gone) for a period. I recall dropping into Lester's to buy something during the early '90's and that beautiful old clock caught my attention and the store layout was very old world at that stage. Another aunt on my father's side was in same class also doing Pharmacy at the Crawford Technical College who had worked at Mayne's chemist.

Such a different world now when you remember how things used be when you had that buzz around Roches Stores, Cash's, old Savoy & old Queen's Old Castle Shopping Centres which had Mary Rose Cafés in the centre of each complex not to mention all the old picture houses, record shops and just the atmosphere around town in general.

beer enigma

SusieBlue wrote: »

I'd love to see somewhere akin to Bewleys in Dublin go onto Patrick St. A more traditional option for a hot drink and a cake/scone with proper, comfortable seating would go down a treat I think.
People are sick of Starbucks and the like, they're so impersonal, cold and uncomfortable. Not somewhere you can sit for an hour or two catching up with friends.

|I had hoped it was going to be a cafe/restaurant that was going in again upstairs in Merchants quay where the old Kylemore used to be but the latest application states 'licenced restaurant' and even at that the application is incomplete

bingo9999

I find the idea of a proper restaurant in there interesting. If they can capture a crowd and draw people further up Patrick street after 5pm in the evening it will be quite a feat and one I would welcome

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beer enigma wrote: »

|I had hoped it was going to be a cafe/restaurant that was going in again upstairs in Merchants quay where the old Kylemore used to be but the latest application states 'licenced restaurant' and even at that the application is incomplete

Yes, I'm sure that I read an article last year about plans to include a restaurant that would hold a licence to sell alcohol as one part of revamped Merchant's Quay Shopping Centre. The idea was that there would be a separate access entrance created for such a restaurant via Patrick Street although; I've not come across any further updates regarding this particular aspect since.

opus

opus wrote: »

No worries, in fact I took the pic to send to the other person who was originally part owner.

I like how the Echo took the pic from here! Hello Echo Reporters

Cork city centre wine bar to reopen after devastating fire

Very blurred compared to the version I posted.

leahyl

I think this thread should be shown to the Council - maybe they'd then they'd realise what is actually wanted on Patrick Street and other areas

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opus wrote: »

I like how the Echo took the pic from here! Hello Echo Reporters

Cork city centre wine bar to reopen after devastating fire

Very blurred compared to the version I posted.

Of course before it became L'Atitude No. 51, Union Quay would have been "The Lobby Bar" which was a highly respected live music venue much loved by regular patrons. In earlier years I think it was "Henry Africa's" during much of the '80's decade.

Best wishes to the owner/manager & all the staff & customers as L'Atitude gets ready to re-open following damage arising from that fire around St. Patrick's Day last year. I really hope they get a great bounce back of goodwill as being closed for all that time must have been extremely challenging for all involved.

beer enigma

bingo9999 wrote: »

I find the idea of a proper restaurant in there interesting. If they can capture a crowd and draw people further up Patrick street after 5pm in the evening it will be quite a feat and one I would welcome

Planning was from the owners of Merchants Quay for a licensed restaurant with separate access from Patrick's Street.

It stalled after the Council asked for clarification on potential operators and whether of not they would have a takeaway offering.

New application is due shortly so I hear.

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It was also great to learn that Clancy's Bar of Princes Street re-opened in November after being closed since 2017.

https://www.corkbeo.ie/culture/music-nightlife/beloved-cork-pub-reopen-doors-17296927

beer enigma

opus wrote: »

No worries, in fact I took the pic to send to the other person who was originally part owner.

Your photo made the Echo Opus

https://www.echolive.ie/corknews/Cork-city-centre-wine-bar-to-reopen-after-devastating-fire--272e12fc-8cc6-4b4a-bf2f-f9ce36527152-ds

Just caught up on this thread,I would murder a cake from Roches Stores right now,either the long donut or the trifle in the little white carton, they were absolutely delicious, the only place that I can find a proper cake now is Fitzpatricks in Glounthaune,proper cream in them everywhere else seems to be pure artificial. Starving now lol.

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Deleted User wrote: »

Just caught up on this thread,I would murder a cake from Roches Stores right now,either the long donut or the trifle in the little white carton, they were absolutely delicious, the only place that I can find a proper cake now is Fitzpatricks in Glounthaune,proper cream in them everywhere else seems to be pure artificial. Starving now lol.

I know at one point most if not all of the fresh cakes sold in both Roches Stores cake shop and café had been supplied by Thompsons. I do not know if Roches used any alternative/additional suppliers for their cakes. I recall those long cream jam doughnuts, ring doughnut, chocolate eclairs, russian log, pyramid, iced apple slices, custard slice, cream slice not to mention the Trifle in the white plastic punnet!

When Roches Stores coffee bar and cake shop was Across The Street (Merchant Street) from the Rochest Stores supermarket, you had the Gardening Dept, collection point if customers wanted to leave in their shopping bags in, cake shop, staircase leading to offices, lots of telephone kiosks with people all chatting on phone and a cloud of smoke and then Gents/Ladies Toilets and then you had Roches café. Other buildings on that side of Merchant Street included kitchen ware, fine bone china/aynsley, pottery, flooring like carpets, furniture and ground level car park spaces leading to back of the old Roches Stores Leisure Shop which had leisure/sports equipment, toys, games etc

I think a former member of Thompson's had a much smaller operation in subsequent years with it's Thoma sliced brown bread on sale. I also recall "Floury Hands" which was a small busy shop/café on the same site of Thompson's cake shop/café located near Queen's Old Castle by Daunt Square back in the '90's which was long after Thompson's Bakery had closed on McCurtain Street. Cork was definitely spoilt for choice with so many cake/bread manufacturers and cafés back in those days!

leahyl

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Just caught up on this thread,I would murder a cake from Roches Stores right now,either the long donut or the trifle in the little white carton, they were absolutely delicious, the only place that I can find a proper cake now is Fitzpatricks in Glounthaune,proper cream in them everywhere else seems to be pure artificial. Starving now lol.

I think Fitzpatricks cakes are way overrated and overpriced - but that’s for another thread!!

Great memories there,I can remember that people would leave babies in prams by the phones while they went in to the toilets,different times.Also I think we used to pack our shopping into a big cardboard box rather than bags.
There used to be a restaurant upstairs in Cashs , we used to be taken there once a year at Christmas after a trip to Santa and we were only allowed get the Sheperds pie with gravy,I'm thinking now that it must have been the cheapest thing on the menu, we absolutely loved it anyway.

leahyl

leahyl wrote: »

I think Fitzpatricks cakes are way overrated and overpriced - but that’s for another thread!!

I very rarely call in there but I do love their cakes, they have a lemon and cream pastry that's delicious, I don't even know how much they are tbh.

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Deleted User wrote: »

Great memories there,I can remember that people would leave babies in prams by the phones while they went in to the toilets,different times.Also I think we used to pack our shopping into a big cardboard box rather than bags.
There used to be a restaurant upstairs in Cashs , we used to be taken there once a year at Christmas after a trip to Santa and we were only allowed get the Sheperds pie with gravy,I'm thinking now that it must have been the cheapest thing on the menu, we absolutely loved it anyway.

Of course back in those days all bags including plastic bags in supermarkets were 100% free but if a Roches Stores customer had a load of shopping and wanted to head off to do something like have a bite to eat, they would hand in their Roches branded shopping bags and they received coloured sticker labels that would be affixed to each bag and the customer would return afterwards with the relevant code labels to collect - I think it was free service! The café in Cash's rings a bell but came much later than Roches Stores café I reckon. It had less choice but they wanted customers to stay & think if they wanted to buy that expensive item! Eason's also came late at introducing a café.