Kinsale cafe lease a tasty offering as Food U owner hangs up her apron

After ten years at the Kinsale hotspot, career caterer Úna Crosbie has decided to slow down and sell up

Food U, Kinsale

KINSALE and good grub go hand-in-glove, so anyone looking to run their own food venture in the coastal town might be interested in taking over the lease of a well-established café.

Food U, which has been run by career caterer Úna Crosbie for the past 10 years, is right where you need it to be to capitalise on footfall along the Kinsale promenade. What’s more, it’s opposite the revered yacht club, ergo perfectly positioned to cater for thirsty (not lusty) and peckish sailors.

Ms Crosbie, who previously ran Glassyalleys restaurant in Cork city, has been in catering since 2002 and is retiring from her Kinsale venture. The upshot is that the business is for sale. Interested buyers can acquire the lease – a new lease was recently signed for three years – for €150,000.

Food U, Kinsale

“I’m still running the café myself, and it’s flying it, but I want to slow down a bit, so I am selling on the lease,” Ms Crosbie said.

“I love it, it’s a great little business, but I’ve been catering since I was 16,” she added. Ms Crosbie ran it on a six-day week basis.

Acting on her behalf is Ray Sweetnam of Casey & Kingston and he says the café has had “consistently high profit margins and turnover for the past five years”.

Food U, Kinsale

The unit, at 1 Pier Road, Kinsale, is in the heart of the town, overlooking Kinsale Harbour, and just 15 minutes from the Old Head of Kinsale, home to one of the country’s most exclusive golf clubs, as well as a significant tourist attraction.

The lease comprises a 360 sq ft (33.5 sq m) ground floor premises, with fixtures and fittings and indoor and outdoor seating. Rates are €700pa.

Food U, Kinsale

Mr Sweetnam said the location, near Acton’s Hotel, “obviously benefits from the yachting and high levels of tourism”.

Kinsale is conveniently connected through multiple bus routes and is only a 20 minute drive from Cork Airport. It's an affluent town with more than it's share of multimillion euro homes.

DETAILS: Ray Sweetnam Tel: [phone] Email: [e-mail]