Village full of beans as Pandemic-era café hits the spot
Lisa Moore opened the Cozy Calf Cafe in the Foxes Den pub in Kilmacow, Co Kilkenny, last month. Picture: Eoghan Dalton
A fox’s den doesn’t sound overly cosy but that’s where Lisa Moore has set up shop during lockdown.
Her Cozy Calf cafe opened last month in Kilmacow, a village near the Kilkenny-Waterford border.
The 31-year-old had been working for a HR firm in London prior to the pandemic, but since returning to Ireland for a family celebration last year she's been working from home in Kilmacow.
Now, on top of her full-time job, she has commandeered a section of The Foxes Den pub. Four people are employed part-time while Ms Moore works in the cafe from 6.30am to 9am when she starts her 'real' job.
“I lived in London for five years and I used to get up at six o clock in the morning to get to work and then I’d get home at eight o clock in the evening,” she said.
“I feel like I’m after winning time, basically.”
“The more I got into it the more I got really invested and wanted it to be my own. I studied hotel management so it’s always been in me. I worked in bars and restaurants and now that I work in HR, I miss that engagement with people.”
With few pints poured over the past year in the Den, and Ms Moore having worked for owners Clare and Ger Buckley since her teenage days, the lounge proved an ideal spot to bring some life back to the village.
Catriona Foskin has found it a handy pitstop on her school run. Huddled up by the cafe’s stove as she waits for her takeaway, she noted it’ was living up to its name in this week’s torrential weather.
“I think it’s something the pandemic will definitely have changed, people are definitely starting to enjoy this type of life,” she said, adding she now works from home for a motor parts supplier.
“It’s just lovely to have, it’s beautifully done up and I’d know about 90% of the people I meet here.”
The 2016 census recorded a population of 647, however, with the village so close to Waterford city, this is set to increase thanks to 49 houses and apartments coming on stream.
“The cafe absolutely has been a success and it’s living proof that there is a need for a place for people to come in the daytime," said local councillor Tomás Breathnach.
There is still one matter to be resolved when restrictions are lifted. The Foxes Den is a proud Kilkenny hurling pub while Ms Moore, like many on the other side of the Suir's banks, is a loyal Deise woman.
“I’ve been told that they’ll need the Cozy Calf back for matches because that’s where they show them on a projector – I’m standing my ground but we’ll figure it out yet!”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
