'The business took off from the get-go': Celebrating 30 years of Cork foodstore

When Eleanor O’Sullivan opened The Granary Foodstore in Midleton 30 years ago, she never realised she was starting a dynasty.

It’s still going strong in The Square, now run by her son, Jack.

Back in 1996, Eleanor felt nobody was doing satisfying takeaway meals just like mummy used to make.

“I was working with Moróg in the Farm Gate, and I always wanted to do something for myself,” says Eleanor.

“I realised that nobody was doing takeaway meals. I decided to give it a go, and I took a unit in Roxboro Mews in Midleton.”

From little acorns, oak trees grow.

“The business took off from the word go with the help of two pals,” says Eleanor. “Soon, I had to extend when the unit proved too small.

“People loved buying the tasty nutritious dinner staples. They got their dinner and they were happy. Homecooked food is always nicer.”

Eleanor grew up in an environment in Skibbereen where delicious traditional home-baking and hearty nourishing comforting food was always on the menu; she continued that lifestyle when she got married to John and moved to Midleton.

“Then I had a husband and then we had three boys to feed! I always loved cooking.” says Eleanor.

She was old school.

“I cooked nothing major. I liked, and still like, to cook old-fashioned comfort food with a few variations, like mustard chicken, lamb in red wine, and beef stroganoff for instance. The boys enjoyed trying out curries and some Asian food as well.”

And who doesn’t love a homemade cake or a fresh crusty scone?

“They went down well too,” says Eleanor laughing.

Was running a busy household and a flourishing business a hard task?

“I would start very early and work until 6.30pm,” says Eleanor. “I had no time off.”

She does now, enjoying playing tennis and golf. “I’m still cooking though!” she laughs. “You never get away from that, do you?”

Maybe not. But Eleanor is very much appreciated, not least by Jack, who now runs the business.

“My mum is a brilliant cook,” he says. “My grandmother was a great cook too. I never met her. Mum is all go and it all started when an Italian friend gave her an industrial pasta maker. It was a huge machine.

“She made homemade pasta for the FarmGate and decided she would set up a stall in the English Market. Then Yago began making pasta. Mum then decided to go into making ready meals. Back then, I think Cinnamon Cottage was the only business doing ready meals.”

Eleanor had a good tasting panel from the start - four hungry men!

“She tried out her homemade recipes with various tweaks on dad and on us three brothers,” says Jack.

Eleanor was not afraid to experiment in the kitchen. “She did mad things too,” says Jack. “Like filling oranges with ice-cream! Her sticky toffee pudding and banoffee pie are to die for. When mum started out in Midleton, there was only Barry’s Bakery here in the town.”

The Granary, now well established, moved to Coach House Lane in The Square, Midleton, in 2007.

“I was the anchor tenant,” says Eleanor. “And I was the only one.

“Apart from homecooked meals and desserts, people began asking for coffee. Hence the café. I loved the business. I loved the people.”

In 1996, Jack was doing his Leaving Cert. He qualified as a Quantity Surveyor and he and wife Caroline bought a house in Dublin.

“I had a good job as a Quantity Surveyor for 10 years,” he says. “Caroline and I got married in 2009. All was good. I was doing well as a young married man. But I had an itch. I wasn’t fully happy.”

How could he tell his wife?

“There was something missing,” says Jack. “I didn’t want to say it to Caroline”.

She knew that her husband loved to cook, it was in his genes.

“Since leaving home, I always looked where to get good food,” says Jack. “I love food.”

Meanwhile, Eleanor’s business in The Square was gaining traction, so much so that she found herself under pressure.

“She was very busy,” says Jack.

Things had evolved.

“Funny, The Granary was never meant to be a café,” says Jack. “Mum had no coffee machine in the beginning. That arrived along with the big table in the middle.”

At that table, people relish fresh salads, scones with homemade jam, a substantial omelette, a steaming hot soup, or meaty shepherd’s pie.

“Business spiralled,” says Jack. “Mum was going to sell up in 2009. She thought it was time. Dad did too.”

It was wake-up time for Jack.

“I woke up one morning and I said ‘I am going to do it’. “Then I thought, ‘are you mad? We had bought a house. It would be a big upheaval moving back to Midleton and taking over The Granary. Caroline wanted to stay in Dublin.”

They worked it out.

“We decided that she would stay in Dublin and I would commute from Cork to Dublin at weekends,” says Jack, dad to two daughters. “We did that for three or four years until Caroline got a work transfer here. It was the best thing ever for her.”

Jack is an all or nothing kind of guy. Stepping into his mother’s shoes, he knew that he had to give it his all.

“I was going to make a good go of it,” he says.

He wasn’t his mum though.

“Mum did all the cooking, the ordering, front-of-house, everything,” says Jack. “I couldn’t do that. It wouldn’t work for me.”

He hired a capable loyal team.

“I have great staff. We work well together. The customers love all my staff. I enjoy covering front-of-house.”

Then came a setback.

“I had been suffering from kidney disease and I was on dialysis. It was manageable and my consultant said I should be OK for 10 years. Then I needed a kidney transplant.”

He was lucky.

“I had a transplant in the summer of 2023. I won’t lie. It was very difficult as it was during covid.”

He had people in his corner.

“My staff here were fantastic,” says Jack.

He bounced back and he never looked back.

“I went from strength to strength,” says Jack. “There was a lot of luck involved.

“The work mum had put in always paid off. During covid, the takeaway meals became even more popular. We survived a recession before that, but it was nothing like covid.

“Afterwards, prices rocketed and businesses had to get in tune with that. I had to deal with so much in that period. It was hard. It was all a bit of a blur to be honest.”

How did The Granary survive when so many similar businesses in Cork sank?

“We own the premises, which is not typical in Midleton,” says Jack. “Regulations have changed very much over the years.

“Our rates are high because we moved here to the Square during the Celtic Tiger. 

Repeat business is a big factor in our success. We know our regular customers, who generously tip the staff at Christmas. It’s so nice of them. And we know the local businesspeople who come in here. We value their custom. It’s lovely to see older people meet up and catch up over a coffee and a chat. Breakfast is very popular. We listen to our customers about what they want. Lunch is our staple and ordering at the till saves time so that customers have their food on the table very quickly.”

Old habits die hard.

“I still run things by mum,” says Jack. “I always talk to her. I am happy with my lot.”

As the Granary Foodstore marks its 30th anniversary, I ask Jack will he be cooking in 30 years?

“That’s a big question. I am 48, still young.”

Would he advise other ambitious people to get into the food trade?

“Only if they love food,” says Jack. “If I was in it for the money, I wouldn’t be here.”