Cork's newest bar complex South Gate set for grand opening after €5m sale

After a recent sale marking one of the largest ever in Cork City, a new life is being given to the former Flying Enterprise and Courtyard, with the two popular bars to be combined under the one name, the South Gate.

With plans for the new venue to open for St Patrick’s Day, work is well under way to renovate and prepare the landmark building, which sold for just over €5m in November.

The vastly expanded licensed and entertainment premises, virtually an entire quayside block of a quarter of an acre, were built up over the past 45 years by former owners Finbarr and Dolly O’Shea.

During their time, they vastly expanded the complex’s various elements from the traditional bar they took over in 1980. Since then, they redeveloped the main building, increased the number of apartments, and added the newsagency/deli/off-licence Quay News.

The new owners of the iconic venue, Sengfund Investment Limited, are a local buyer with international backing. The buyers are also the team behind the Royal Palace Chinese Restaurant, located by the Lough, and two Princes Street restaurants, Pearl River and Nosh 19.

Last year’s landmark sale included the Courtyard Bar, capable of holding parties of 700 at the old Sullivans Quay CBS site, a shop, Quay News, off-licence, and five overhead apartments.

It marked one of the largest bar sales in Munster in recent years, eclipsed only by Reardens on Washington St, along with the Oliver Plunkett Bar, in a combined deal valued at around €30m last year to Attestor Capital.

Now, operations manager of the ambitious project, Paul O’Dea, says work is coming along nicely for its upcoming opening.

“We took the roadworks happening outside as an opportunity to get working,” Mr O’Dea tells the Irish Examiner.

“Our first goal was to change the name. Our new name is inspired by the neighbouring South Gate Bridge. It’s one of the city's oldest landmarks, it's located right on our doorstep, and it has been connecting people across the city for 300 years.” 

Industry veteran

A veteran of the hospitality industry, Mr O’Dea has spent the last 20 years working across well-known Cork venues. Formerly of the Rochestown Park Hotel and the Fota Clubhouse, Mr O’Dea was working as general manager of St Columba’s Hall in Douglas, known far and wide as the Tinny Shed, when he was approached about this new venture.

“The offer came, and at that point, I was at the Tinny Shed for eight years. I wanted a new challenge. I thought to myself, this is it.” Mr O’Dea says the former front-facing Flying Enterprise will remain largely maintained, while the former Courtyard Bar is set for a more substantial makeover.

“We wanted to complement the front; there is such glorious woodwork in there, and we wanted to keep that. The Courtyard will then be more modernised.

The operations manager says the strong team that was retained from the previous owners puts them in a strong position, with hiring currently underway to further grow the team ahead of its opening.

“On a busy night here, we’re going to need around 30-40 staff members to keep this place going. But the team we carried over allows us to come at this from a position of strength.” 

As Mr O’Dea sees it, the new South Gate Bar will be Cork’s one-stop shop for all entertainment purposes, with the current expansion for St Patrick’s Day marking only the start of what will be an extensive renovation.

Looking further ahead, the operations manager outlines ambitious plans for the iconic exterior of the former Courtyard, which has become a cornerstone for sports fans thanks to its substantial outdoor big screen.

“We hope to have the outside ready for the summer so it can be the go-to spot for soccer fans ahead of the World Cup,” Mr O’Dea says.

“We have big plans to renovate and upgrade the outdoor space. We’ll have more seating, and more importantly, given the unpredictability of Irish weather, more shelter. We also have plans for an additional outdoor bar, making it ideal for the upcoming tournament.

“We’re the one-stop shop able to cater for whatever you need, whether it's sports, music, a large function of any kind, or good food.” 

Mr O’Dea says the team has carefully considered its food offering, hiring the former head chef of Greenes Restaurant, Nicolas Alegre, to lead the new South Gate kitchen, helped by the former sous-chef of Greenes, whom Nicolas has brought with him for this new venture.

Uncertain time

The South Gate’s opening comes at an uncertain time for the hospitality industry. While the 9% Vat rate is set to come into effect in July, a hard-fought-for measure considered a lifeline for many in the industry, many pubs, bars and restaurants continue to trade on razor-thin margins, with many unable to deal with rising business costs.

“It’s definitely a very hard time for the industry,” says Mr O’Dea. “We’re seeing pubs struggling to stay open, we’ve seen widespread closures, so we’re doing this at an interesting time.

“But what I do know from my own experience is the pub trade has and will always do well in Ireland once you set yourself apart. It’s about finding our niche and getting it right. That is very much what we intend to do here."