Will you find the Golden Ticket? Viral chocolatier to open third Irish store in Cork
Founders of Sugar Plum Sweetery, David Quirke and Denise Buckley, outside their Mullingar store.
A much-loved chocolatier in Ireland is bringing its viral Dubai chocolate bars to Cork, with a brand-new store set to open in the city centre.
Sugar Plum Sweetery became a social media sensation during the country’s Dubai chocolate craze early last year, and has since been much-loved among chocolate lovers.
With a store in Mullingar and a second at Kildare Village, the Cork store will be the third for the popular chocolatier.
The opening of the new store will create 10 new jobs and people can expect to see the doors thrown open within the next two weeks.
Over the past 12 months, Sugar Plum Sweetery has experienced more than 900% sales growth, expanded its team to 100 employees, and built one of the country's most loyal communities of chocolate lovers.
Founded by restaurateurs and husband-and-wife team David Quirke and Denise Buckley, Sugar Plum Sweetery was established in 2022 beside their award-winning Mullingar restaurant, Wholesome Kitchen, with a vision of creating a truly magical chocolate experience unlike anything else in Ireland.
What began as a small handmade chocolate shop has rapidly grown into one of the country's most talked-about confectionery brands.
Speaking about the new Cork store, founders David Quirke and Denise Buckley said that Cork has been one of their “biggest and most passionate customer bases” from the very beginning of their journey with Sugar Plum Sweetery.
“We've had thousands of people asking us to open here, so finally being able to bring Sugar Plum Sweetery to Cork feels incredibly special,” they said.
“We've always wanted our stores to feel like stepping into a world of imagination rather than simply buying chocolate. Every product is handmade by our amazing team, every recipe has been developed in-house and every visit is designed to create memories. We cannot wait to finally welcome Cork through our doors.”
The pair said that the new store, located on Oliver Plunkett Street, will transform an ordinary shopping trip into a world of chocolate imagination, bringing together premium handmade chocolate, nostalgic sweets and exclusive creations.
To celebrate the opening, they are giving Cork customers the chance to experience a little real-life chocolate magic.
The first 50 customers through the doors will receive a free goodie bag with any purchase. Hidden inside one lucky goodie bag will be a Golden Ticket which gives the ticket-holder an exclusive behind-the-scenes visit to Sugar Plum Sweetery's Chocolate Factory, where they'll create their own personalised chocolate creations alongside the team.
The store’s official opening date and time will be revealed across Sugar Plum Sweetery's Instagram, TikTok and Facebook channels over the coming days.
