Cork chipper boss Tom hands over a pizza the action to his twins

It’s 40 years since Churchfield man Tom Harrington took over the Burger Hut in Hollyhill.

But his love for the fast food industry dates back to 1981, when he started working at his wife’s family business, well-known city haunt the Pickin’ Chicken.

In the midst of the 1980s recession, Burger Hut was a second job for the self-proclaimed “proud Norrie”, who also worked with the ESB until 1996.

“We had one car when I started”, Tom reminisces. “So my wife would come down (to the ESB) with the twins in the car and we’d drive home, drop them off and I’d go to work in the Burger Hut.”

Three decades later, these twins - Scott and Mark, now 41 - are taking over the family food business, rebranding as an independent pizzeria and chipper called TOMTOMS in honour of their father’s legacy.

It was actually Scott and Mark who inspired Tom to diversify into pizza back in the 1990s - calling the shots from a very young age!

“We had four kids”, says Tom, “and when you’d ask them what food they wanted, they’d say pizza.

“So I saw, in my wisdom, that this was where younger people were going to be going, where traditional chippers were going to be going.”

This was the impetus needed for Tom to purchase the Apache Pizza franchise in 2001 and bring it to Cork’s northside.

Under the franchise agreement, they were able to offer not just pizza, but also their original chipper menu - something for all the family. The model proved to be a great success, as Tom explains.

“The way I saw it was that basically it’s the daddy who was paying for the food. So if he didn’t like pizza, what could he get?

“So in our place you could get a pizza for the kids, a fish supper for the daddy... It covered all ages”.

The family expanded the Apache Pizza franchise south of the river to Douglas and Bishopstown.

Scott and Mark, who had both worked in the business in a part-time capacity for most of their lives, came on full-time in 2012 at the Douglas branch.

Tom had always envisioned a family business, but the twins needed to carve out their own paths first.

“We went away and did our own thing,” explains Scott. “Then the recession happened in Ireland in 2007, 2008, when I was an electrician. So it was just kind of organic - the opportunity arose in Douglas and we said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it’.”

Mark had worked a variety of jobs before joining the family business full-time, including fixing catering equipment - a skill that proved invaluable when he joined his dad and brother at the restaurants. As Mark describes it: “We knew the ins and outs from top to bottom”.

Both twins brought an abundance of enthusiasm and new ideas to the business, with an eye on the shift in consumer tastes and expectations.

“Where Mark and Scott are way, way better than me is the social media marketing, online marketing - Instagram, Google, all that kind of thing”, says Tom. “I’m kind of like a dinosaur with that”.

Mr Harrington Senior is selling himself short here somewhat, as it was his traditional style of marketing that grew the business from scratch to begin with!

As he describes it: “My marketing is meeting somebody, talking, that kind of thing.”

That ‘kind of thing’ worked in the ’80s and ’90s, and even with the digital revolution, it still works now, as Scott and Mark have found. They are keen for the business to retain its personal touch, especially in the current economic climate.

“With the cost-of-living crisis, people are going to spend their money more wisely,” considers Scott. “You have to give good deals, hot food in good time, and a good customer experience all round - whether that be online, over the phone or in person. You have to be personable.”

Despite the name change to TOMTOMS at the Hollyhill, Douglas and Bishopstown pizza restaurants - as well as the original Holyhill Burger Hut - the father and sons are keen to stress that the ethos of the family business remains the same.

“The only thing that has changed is the name,” explains Tom.

Which isn’t to say that the business model at TOMTOMS won’t be constantly evolving - indeed, that has always been the case from the moment Tom stepped behind the counter of Burger Hut in 1985.

Scott and Mark are now looking ahead, with a focus on establishing the new brand over the next 12 months.

Exciting developments are on the cards, with new products such as a pizza pocket on the menu, as well as a move into kebabs in response to more adventurous consumer tastes.

As Mark notes: “We’re going to have to be kind of innovative and come up with things, and see what the trends are going to be.”

The vibe of the new brand is fun, young and uplifting, with a family focus and a strong digital presence.

While TOMTOMS remains a family business at its core, its number one priority is the wider family - that of the Cork community.

The Harringtons live in this community, where their shops are. “We care about the food we give out,” says Mark. “It’s kind of like you’re representing the food as well, you know?”

As Tom hangs up his apron for the final time, how does he feel about his sons carrying the business forward?

“I would have no fears at all with them. It’ll grow now.”

He adds: “They’re my sons, they’re my friends, and they’re my business partners... There’s a great pleasure in seeing how your kids turn out.”

To celebrate the rebrand, TOMTOMS is running a special offer this December of a large 14inch pizza for just €12 (online for delivery and collection). For more information on the restaurants, see  www.tomtoms.ie.