This article is from page 4 of the 2013-08-06 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
A CLARE food company is to increase its work force by almost 50 per cent after it was given the go ahead to build a new café and restaurant in Bunratty.
Shannon based company Zest is expected to begin building the new eatery on the site of the former Avoca building early next year, the construction also providing up to 40 new jobs. The site has been vacant since the landmark building along the N8 dual carriage way was destroyed by fire in 2007.
It was purchased by Zest, which is the retail division of EFG Inflight Ltd, in 2011.
Last December Zest was granted conditional planning permission to demolish the existing structure on the old Avoca site, and build a new 680 square metre facility comprising of a restaurant, café, food hall and kitchen, as well as associated works, by Clare County Council
The local authority’s ruling was appealed to An Bord Pleanala by Maurice Walsh of Durty Nelly’s, who claimed it would “severely detract from the setting and character of Bunratty”.
An Bord Pleannala rejected the appeal and the project was given the green light in the last week.
A total of 15 conditions have been attached to the Bunratty development.
These include an order that a bat survey be carried out on the site, further changes to proposed signage, as well as other measures in the interest of visual amenity, traffic safety and local wildlife.
The new project is expected to create 40 jobs to add to the 100 more Zest jobs at its base in Knockbeg Point, Shannon Airport, and at its shops and cafes in Ennis and Limerick.
The company was founded in 2006, and the first Zest shop opened in Ennis in June 2010.
The Limerick branch is open in Pery Square at the Limerick City Gallery of Art and in the last few weeks the company opened a new store for Killaloe.