The pub: Lock 13 Brewpub, situated on the banks of the historic Grand Canal in the picturesque village of Sallins, Co Kildare, has been in the Flanagan family for more than 25 years and is the younger sibling of Silken Thomas in Kildare town.
arry Flanagan and his wife, Ola, told me how their business has been coping with the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We'd opened our microbrewery, Kildare Brewing Company, in 2017, so when we closed our doors last March, we were left not only with a closed brewpub but with a brewery that needed to shift quickly," says Barry.
They switched to click-and-collect offerings throughout 2020, and luckily they'd invested in their own can-filling and seaming machine the previous year, which helped them keep up with all the orders for their fresh, local premium beer.
"When we opened our doors in July, the summer season was busy with people walking and cycling along the Grand Canal. Then we had our own Kildare lockdown, which knocked us back again, but fortunately we were able to seat customers for outdoor dining on our Hop Terrace."
On the brewing side, they had time to focus on different options of fermented foods, which led them to setting up ProKulture Organic Kombucha, which is available in 145 Aldi stores nationwide.
"We are firm believers that every cloud has a silver lining and we will keep changing and adapting our business model, but we need the Government to give our industry a concrete roadmap as we are losing not only businesses but key staff members who cannot see a career in the hospitality sector.
"We are resuming our click-and-collect services shortly for March, and we are raring to come back fully when times allow. We also have a number of new projects that we are working on to come back with a bang."
lock13.ie
The chef: Having won 'Chef of the Year', among many awards, Sunil Ghai is one of Ireland's best-known chefs. With his wife Leena, he owns Pickle restaurant in Camden Street, Dublin; Tiffin in Greystones, Co Wicklow; and the more recent Street takeaway in Clonskeagh, Dublin.
"After the shock of March 2020, we regrouped at Pickle and began to offer takeaways. It was trial and error initially as we didn't know whether being in the city centre would be a barrier for us." However, when they started to offer delivery, things picked up.
"Then the most terrible thing happened: I lost my father in May, and due to the lockdown I couldn't see him. Everything will settle back, but I will never get my father back."
Sunil had started another project in December 2019 so was looking forward to a great start to 2020.
"Leena and I were wondering whether to go ahead or cancel the deal, but we decided life is to live and it has no excitement if there is not a challenge, and so, in a pandemic, Street takeaway in Bird Avenue was born."
They were blown away by the support they received.
"Street is a silver lining for us. Leena has kept the show on the road in Tiffin and we've noticed lots of customers buying ingredients to spice up their cooking at home. We love to give tips on how to best use a certain spice.
"There have been highs and lows for Leena, myself and the wider team over the last 12 months, but our outlook is hopeful. We are so grateful for all the support shown to us by our local community and it's really satisfying to see customers return each week. We really can't wait to have guests back to dine in Pickle and to be able to look after them in a safe environment and give that extra restaurant experience that I think we are all missing so much!"
picklerestaurant.com;
tiffin.ie; streetrestaurant.ie
The restaurant: The charming, urbane Giorgio Casari is one of the best-known figures on Dublin's dining scene. To say he's seen it all down the years would be putting it mildly. He now presides over Gigi, his chic Italian Ranelagh restaurant.
"Gigi has two Giorgios: I ran The Unicorn in Merrion Row, and another Giorgio who is just a little younger, who also comes from the hospitality sector. I bring the experience and he brings the energy - together that makes the perfect partnership," Giorgio laughs.
With all the openings and closings, 2020 was a tough year. "We definitely had our fair share of ups and downs. We had supplies ordered, supplies to use, fresh food going to waste, and suppliers still needed to be paid."
They've now launched a new takeout menu online and a call-and-collect service. Giorgio takes the orders over the phone and is always on hand to recommend dishes and wine pairings, offering 40pc off their wine list prices.
"We never offered a takeaway service before but now without it we wouldn't have a business. We prefer customers calling direct to order because if they use a delivery company we have to pay them 30pc on every order, and for us to keep fighting and surviving in these challenging times we need to keep costs down.
"This is our livelihood, and we love our regular customers and neighbours in Ranelagh. The solidarity from fellow restaurants, bars and coffee shops in our neighbourhood is something I didn't experience in the city centre. With 2021 starting off slowly, we're not sure what the future holds for inside dining - but we intend to fight it and keep going."
gigiranelagh.ie
The hotel: Consummate hotelier Seán Lally and his wife, Elaine joined Hotel Woodstock in Ennis, Co Clare, as co-owners with the Choice Hotel Group in 2016. Their son, Oisín, a student of Shannon Hotel School, is also involved, and Sean is still convinced he will entice their daughter Caoimhe, who represented Clare in minor camogie last year, into the business.
"Everything was moving along nicely, showing solid year-on-year growth, when we faced our first major hurdle with Elaine being diagnosed with cancer in 2019."
Having had two operations, chemotherapy and radium treatment in 18 months, she is over it. "Getting back into the throes of organising weddings was a great distraction in the recovery process," says Seán.
Using the lockdowns to develop their IT skills, they've been staying in contact with customers. "There's no point in burying your head in the sand and waiting for the phone to ring," says Elaine.
Being a popular wedding venue, they also decided to put out a video spoof on First Dates, which has gone global.
Seán chairs Promote Ennis, collecting €80,000 during lockdown - a lot from businesses that were closed. "There's a big opportunity for tourism here, with so many world-class tourist attractions," he says. "While the Government has got a lot of things right in supporting the tourism industry, we will still need additional supports when the industry opens up.
"I'm frustrated by the timescale of the vaccine roll-out, which is the silver bullet in recovery. The EU seems to be dragging its feet."
hotelwoodstock.ie
