Owner of Noodlee restaurants announces ambitious expansion plans despite industry staff shortages 

Cork restaurateur Song Ye said the ongoing staff shortages in hospitality has become a challenge but still plans on opening 15 new eateries in the county through a €3m investment.

Pictured outside their flagship premises on Cork's Western Road is Noodlee owner Song Ye with Noodlee operations manager Sunny Islam. Picture: Miki Barlok

Cork restaurateur Song Ye said the ongoing staff shortages in hospitality have become a challenge but said he still plans on opening 15 new eateries in the county through a €3m investment.

The 32 year old operator of Fudi and Noodlee restaurants in Cork said his expansion plans would create around 200 jobs if he can get people to fill them.

Mr Ye said it has been difficult to find staff to make the dishes but said he wanted to support the local economy in Cork by embracing the challenge of hiring staff with no experience and investing time to train them.

Mr Ye said hiring inexperienced staff “is key” due to the tight labour market.

“Any staff that is interested in working with us, we are going to give them full training,” he said.

The planned Asian street food style restaurants will be part of the popular food chain Noodlee and are expected to open in the coming months.

Mr Ye decided to expand the brand following the success of two of his restaurants located in Avenue De Rennes in Mahon, and the flagship store next to UCC on Western Road.

Three additional outlets in Carrigaline, Fermoy and Mallow will open in the coming weeks.

Mr Ye said the investment injected into the expansion has come from within the company and not from an outside source.

Noodlee restaurants are also set to open in Douglas, Ballincollig and Middleton shortly after their newest stores open, followed by an additional three stores in Blackpool, Mayfield and Cobh, with discussions continuing for other locations.

The long-term goal for the brand is to become an international franchise, said Mr Ye. There is currently one Noodlee restaurant in the UK.

Mr Ye has been living in Cork since 2007 and operates around four restaurants in the city under his two brands, excluding the ones that are anticipated to open this year.

He currently employs between 80 and 100 employees at these restaurants.

Mr Ye has previously hired Irish chefs specifically with the intention of training them to create their own authentic Chinese dishes. He said he intends to use the same strategy as part of his current expansion plans.

“We will continue to maintain our highest standards of food and hospitality excellence and continue working closely with our Irish producers and suppliers for our high-quality poultry and meats," said Mr Ye.

Meanwhile, risk and financial advisory services provider Kroll released a survey earlier this year that showed more than half of the hospitality business operators that responded believe it will be difficult to recruit and retain staff over the next 12 months while almost half suggested they will not be increasing staff levels in 2023.

The majority of participants in the survey also reported their staffing costs are increasing due to a challenging labour market, The survey included 133 hospitality businesses across Ireland and was conducted in Q4 2022.