If you’re stocking up on Christmas supplies, these are our favourite grocery shops around Ireland …
THE GLOSS X Shopkeepers.com Best Shop Ireland 2022 list is here! THE GLOSS team, led by Sarah McDonnell, editor, Paula Flynn of TheShopkeepers.com, and Amanda Pratt, designer and former creative director and owner of Avoca, have been sifting through nominations for our Best Shops Ireland 2002. With your help, readers and followers, we have found a fabulously diverse and exciting bunch of independent retailers. Store owners, we salute you for your creativity, your hard work, your perseverance in tough times, and your inspiring ability to bring us joy: they don’t call it retail therapy for nothing. We will continue to support you because we want your shops to remain open and thriving, in our cities, towns and villages. Let’s start spreading the word …
From baked goods and farm fresh veg to artisan produce and gourmet pantry items, if you’re stocking up on Christmas supplies, these are the well-stocked grocery shops to visit around Ireland.
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BREAD 41, 41 Pearse Street, Dublin 2
An organic bakery in the heart of Dublin. Specialising in long fermented breads using traditional methods a few simple ingredients; flour, salt, and water. Alongside Bread 41’s loaves there is a range of pastries and sandwiches. BREAD 41 also offers bread-making workshops and free starter kits for those who want to try their hand at home. Photography by Daisy Stewart and Phil Traynor. www.bread41.ie
BRINDLE, 34 Lennox Street, Portobello, Dublin 8
Super dog-friendly coffee and wine shop serving organic, low intervention wines, single origin coffee, and local, artisan produce. BRINDLE COFFEE & WINE is located on a picturesque street of pretty storefronts in Dublin’s Portobello. They offer seasonal in-store wine tastings and kits for at-home tastings. www.brindlecoffeewine.com. Photography by Rachel Lynch
COSGROVE & SON, 32 Market Street, Sligo
A fine food and family-run business, COSGROVE & SON was established in 1898 and is currently managed by the third and fourth generation of Cosgroves. Cosgrove & Son was the first shop to sell ice cream in Sligo, and after Ireland joined the EEC in 1973 they were quick to source and stock products from across Europe. The well-stocked shelves house a vast array of international and Irish gourmet goods. www.cosgroveandson.ie
FUMBALLY, The Fumbally, Fumbally Lane, Dublin 8
Aisling Rogerson and Luca D’Alfonso co-founded the FUMBALLY café in 2012. After years spent travelling and working together, they wanted to create a venture embodying their shared experiences and learnings. In 2020 lockdowns required a business pivot so The Fumbally became a shop selling fresh produce, artisan pantry items, bakery goods, Fumbally Ferments, and take-away dinners. Today, both the café and the shop are thriving, each complementing each other. Photography by Aisling Rogerson. www.thefumbally.ie
KILRUDDERY Southern Cross, Bray, Co Wicklow
The stable yard at 400-year-old Kilruddery is home to Lord and Lady Ardee’s estate’s Farm Shop and Garden Centre as well as the Grain Store Restaurant. Kilruddery’s bio-diverse farm supplies The Farm Shop with chemical-free produce, cut flowers and free-range meats, pantry items and homewares. The garden centre stocks both indoor and outdoor plants, tools, seeds and books. www.kilruddery.com.
Lennox Street Grocer, 38 Lennox Street, Dublin 6
Originally a pop-up, Lennox Street Grocer opened in November 2020. Two years later, the shop conceived by siblings Claire and Chris Arnold (with a combined 20+ years working in various aspects of the food and beverage industries in Europe and North America) is thriving. The shop marries a delicious selection of products from local and international suppliers with a beautifully presented shop. The classic, smartly painted shopfront with its colourful display of produce and the creative signage hand painted by artist Darragh Mulryan. www.lennoxstreet.ie
LILLIPUT STORES, 5 Rosemount Terrace, Arbour Hill, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7
Artisan grocery store Lilliput was founded in 2007 by Brendan O’Mahony and Aoife Cronin. The shelves are packed with all manner of gourmet goods, including sister company Lilliput Trading Co. products. Lilliput Stores has a coffee bar and a daily menu of breakfast and lunch items, with a back room and outdoor bench for enjoying on-site. Lilliput Stores has curated cheese boxes and creates custom hampers. www.lilliputstores.com
LOCO GROCER, 20 Lower Main Street, Arklow, Co Wicklow
On returning from California during lockdown, chef Sarah Reid saw an opportunity to open her own neighbourhood coffee bar, food store and casual eatery in her own home town. She set about establishing LoCo Grocer, named for an acronym of “Local” and “Coffee”, the “Grocer” is a nod to her maternal and paternal grandparents who both owned and lived above grocery shops.
LOTTS & CO, 7 South Lotts Road, Beggars Bush, 46 Clontarf Road, Clontarf, Dublin 3 & 12 Rathfarnham Road, Terenure Dublin 6
LOTTS & CO is a modern, community-based local grocery shop offering the best of Irish products alongside fine goods from around the globe. Brothers Barry and Paul McNerney partnered with John Byrne to open the first Lotts & Co in Beggars Bush in 2015, building on its success by opening two more stores, one in Clontarf and the other in Terenure. Prepared food is made in the Lotts & Co kitchen. www.lottsandco.ie
SCOTTS FARM, 96 Moneybrannon Road, Coleraine, Northern Ireland
Peter Scott, a member of the long-established family-run Scotts Fresh Fruit & Vegetables Wholesalers, opened the Farm Shop & General Store in October 2020. He was inspired to open a shop where he could interact directly with his customers as he believes the experience of shopping is feeling, smelling, or tasting different products before buying and having a conversation with the shopkeeper. Peter has created such space, he says himself, “the shop has introduced me to some very special people, which I believe is the soul of retail.” Scotts Farm offers a mix of fresh, quality produce from all over the world alongside local artisan produce accompanied by great customer service. www.sydneybscott.com/farmshop Photography Peter Scott.
SELECT STORES DALKEY, 36 Tubbermore Road, Dalkey, Co Dublin
A corner fruit and vegetable store, founded in 1959 by husband and wife, Paddy and Margaret McCabe, was transformed by their son Oliver McCabe in 2004. Oliver built on the traditional, family greengrocer business, adding a juice bar and evolving it into the organic, eco-friendly, health food store and café it is today.
SHERIDANS, South Anne Street, Dublin & Churchyard Street, Galway
The iconic green and white branding of Sheridan’s cheesemongers is familiar to Irish shoppers. A visit to one of Sheridan’s cheese shops is always a joy, the variety of cheeses a sight to behold. The Dublin shop is as petite as the Galway shop expansive, both helmed by a knowledgeable staff. The Sheridan brothers, Kevin and Seamus, got their start in Galway market in 1995, their business growing quickly to encompass 21 retail outlets and a wholesale business. www.sheridanscheesemongers.com
Siopa Uí Lúing, Ventry, Tralee, Co Kerry
A fifth generation family-run business, Siopa Uí Lúing is the only Post Office still open West of Dingle. Serving a wide radius of customers, the post office also operates as a grocery and one-stop shop for general sundries. A passionate supporter of small Irish producers, the shelves are stocked with a variety of goods including vegan cheeses, incense, organic sun cream, cashew cream, natural wine, sliced pan and artisan goods. www.instagram.com/ventryposiopauiluing/. Photographs by Ciúin Tracey
SUGAR PLUM SWEETERY, 19 Dominick Street, Mullingar, Co Westmeath
SUGAR PLUM SWEETERY is a candy lover’s dream, like winning a golden ticket to visit Willy Wonka’s Factory. The purple shopfront is home to a wall of colourful pick and mix sweets, the opposite side houses the chocolate selection. Chocolate is handmade in Ireland by master chocolatiers and presented in signature purple boxes. The vision of Denise Buckley and David Quirke, Sugar Plum Sweetery opened in June 2022. www.sugarplumsweetery.ie
THE LITTLE SHOP DINGLE, Grey’s Lane, Dingle, Co Kerry
Mark Murphy believes that Ireland is home to some of the best cheeses and cheesemakers in the world. So, he features a great selection of Irish goat, sheep, and cow cheeses The Little Cheese Shop, which he took over in 2018. Mark also carries a selection of tasty accompaniments to complement his cheese – olives, crackers, chutney, and wine. Photography by Fiona Morgan. www.thelittlecheeseshop.ie
TOONSBRIDGE, The Old Creamery, Toonsbridge, Macroom, Co Cork & 54 Serpentine Avenue, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
Toons Bridge Dairy, in both Cork and Dublin, features handmade namesake cheeses from their herd of buffalo in West Cork. Alongside their cheeses, Jenny-Rose Clarke and Toby Simmonds offer a range of cheeses from other makers, Mediterranean foods from sister-company The Real Olive Company, and a selection of gourmet pantry items. www.toonsbridgedairy.com
WAREHOUSE FOOD MARKET & CAFÉ, Unit 14A, Greenmount Avenue, Harold’s Cross, Dublin 12
Chris Chapman started a seasonal, fresh, local produce delivery service to the Dublin area in January 2020. A very much in-demand business model when Covid hit two months later. By the end of 2021 Chris found a permanent home for his food business in Harold’s Cross, suspending his delivery service now customers shop in person. There is a café serving coffee, breakfast, and lunch and international gourmet pantry items. The space offers workshops and is available for private family-style dining. www.warehousefoodmarket.ie. Photography by Liam Murphy.