The popular, well-known and busy Laois restaurant Stradbally Fayre is celebrating 10 years in business and to mark the occasion they have a range of great giveaways on their Facebook.
We had a chat with the team behind the business to hear about their story so far, the full range of services they offer – and their hopes for the future.
Tell us about Stradbally Fayre and what you offer?
Celebrating 10 years in business this April, Stradbally Fayre has come through one of the worst recessions yet but has continued to grow throughout.
In August 2015 we opened our new restaurant extension which has added seating for an extra 30 persons. Our cafe up to this could only cater for 45 people so our overall seating of 70-75 people has hugely aided business growth.
We can now cater for private functions including Christmas parties, christenings, birthdays, communions, confirmations, anniversaries, business meetings and more. Our new extension can be sectioned off from the rest of the cafe making the atmosphere more personal.
Our opening hours are 8.30am-6.30pm 7 days a week serving full range breakfasts and baked scones, pastries until 12 noon each day. Our lunch menu is served daily from 12-6.30pm along with our daily changing blackboard roast joint specials.
Our take away coffee trade has grown massively especially over the past two years and we put this down to keeping our barista staff fully trained and up to date with all the latest coffee trends. We were recently voted the best coffee outside of Dublin by lovin.ie
Our home catering menu has grown into a business in itself with catering orders going out most days. Our menu range is extensive and includes freshly made salads, meat platters, freshly cut sandwiches , hot dinner options, homemade desserts and custom cakes.
All of our hot dishes leave our kitchen in keep hot dishes and are kept hot for up to three hours. In August 2017 we were delighted to cater for our first home wedding and feel our attention to detail made the event memorable to all guests. We are looking forward to two more weddings this coming summer. We offer a home waiting service ….we bring Stradbally Fayre to you!
Who makes up the team behind Stradbally Fayre?
Stradbally Fayre has built a strong reputation around loyal staff – without each one of them our success would not be possible.
Chris Maguire is the owner of Stradbally Fayre and is more of a friend to all staff than a boss. This approach most certainly keeps staff motivated and approachable in both directions.
Chris is highly motivated and driven to “making things work” and his ethic to getting things in place and organised is one of his strongest traits. Chris in his role doesn’t get commended as he should but thrives on Stradbally Fayre’s success. “Success motivates the motivator!”
Our manager Martina Cahill is the driving force behind this strong team. She sets example after example how to work hard with efficiency while truly loving her job. Not only is she very popular with the staff but also has a great rapport with our customers. You will find her at 5.30 am baking all our delicious homemade desserts, 10am office work, 12 pm managing the floor and cooking in the kitchen if needed. She is a rare find and treats the business like it’s her own.
Our kitchen presently is staffed by three full time chefs Mercia Belean, Marion Dillon and Esther Maguire, one full time and one part time kitchen porter Milan Sidelka and Helen Maguire. We are very excited to announce due to increased business we are hiring a 4th full time chef and will be announcing our new very experienced head chef in the coming weeks
Our Floor/front of house staff is made up of three full time girls Martina Cahill, Joanne Kennedy and our newest member to our team Anne Kelly. Each of these girls carry their own strengths but most importantly work amazingly as a team.
We are very proud some of our part-time weekend staff are with us over six years – namely Una Luttrell, Sarah Reeves, Shona Phelan, Sarah Miller and Grainne Hughes. These girls are as strong as our full time staff and we are continually being complimented on our customer service, winning Best customer service Leinster region award in the Restaurant awards in 2016. All our floor staff “go the extra mile”
You’re celebrating 10 years in business, how have things changed over the years?
We have come through one of the worst recessions yet business continually has grown for us. We never gave up. Things were tough at times but with such a driven team we pushed through and thankfully now are reaping the rewards.
The biggest change is the increased size of our restaurant which at the time we felt was a gamble, yet fortunately a gamble that paid off.
When we opened first we were just a local cafe/Restaurant yet now we have become “a destination”. We have built many great relationships with customers, suppliers and people in general and people seem to love the homely feel we offer.
You have a big involvement with Electric Picnic – tell us about that.
Our busy season starts around May and building to our peak months with the annual Steam Rally in August leading straight into the set up and weekend of Electric Picnic.
We not only have our busy cafe during the Electric Picnic but we also cater onsite in our marquee in the security campsite serving 800 + breakfasts, lunches and evening meals, we also have 2 catering mobile units onsite one of which is always located beside the main stage.
These two national events are a huge boost to business but we are very aware and thankful that without our local and loyal customers throughout the year we would not survive.
What is the most enjoyable thing about the day to day running of Stradbally Fayre?
Daily running of Stradbally Fayre is enjoyable because no two days are the same. Every day is different yet standards remain the same across the board. Even though the job is tough it’s easy to enjoy a job when it doesn’t feel like work.
What’s your most popular dishes?
Our most popular dishes include our Barista coffee trade. From our breakfast menu our homemade pancakes are still remaining a treat to so many.
Our baked scones and pasteries are very popular with our cycling clubs and we do offer them a €4 deal which includes and barista coffee/tea with a homemade scone or slice.
We have built a large following with many cycling clubs and have become a popular stop off with free track pump, repair kit and water refills .Our biggest clubs being Naas cycling club, Kildare cycling club, Trilogy triathlon club, headstrong cycling club Kilkenny and Killeshin wheelers cycling club.
Our most popular items on our afternoon menu is our strong daily specials blackboard offering the likes of Roast Beef, Roast Lamb, Thai Chicken Curry, Cajun Chicken Fillet Burgers, Stews and much more.
Explain to us what you’re doing to celebrate being 10 years in business?
We are doing a 10-day build up competition daily on our Facebook page and is open to everyone to enter. Daily prizes include dinner for two with dessert and tea/coffee; Breakfast for 2 people including tea/coffee; Coffee and dessert for 2; Take away Dessert of choice to serve 12 people and many more to come.
Each person to enter all 10 competitions will be entered in a draw on Sunday, April 29 with chance of winning two tickets to see The Killers in Dublin this June along with €100 voucher for Stradbally Fayre.
On Friday, April 27, we are getting the kids involved in our celebrations and are hosting a free Kids cupcake decorating evening . We will have giveaways in our cafe on Sunday, April 29. with lots of games and fun.
What are the hopes for the future?
The future of Stradbally Fayre is very bright and as mentioned earlier we will be announcing our new head chef in the coming weeks. Our bakery is thriving and we do see scope for extending the business also in this area.
SEE ALSO – Check out the dedicated jobs section on LaoisToday.ie
