Dublin Lord Mayor welcomes plan to reopen Bewley's

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Michael Conaghan, has welcomed plans by the owners of Bewley's Cafés to reopen the Grafton Street outlet that was closed late last year.

Bewley's Ltd said today that the business would reopen next month under the management of the businessmen behind the Café Bar Deli chain.

Thousands of signatures had been collected by a group set up to save the café in the wake of its closure last November.

Mr Conaghan, who was among those who campaigned on the issue, said today that he believed the new café would preserve the ambience and atmosphere of the original.