Full of beans: Three Fools cafes leases warehouse for growth

Three Fools has three outlets to date, wholesale sales and also operates its recently purchased beans.ie site for international bean links

De caff: Three Fools Coffee's pod on Grand Parade, where the business started in 2015.

CORK is known nationwide and further afield for a certain major tea brand, Barry’s which was founded in 1901 – but, coming up on the outside is a perky ring of coffee roasters who also source their wares from growers around the world and give them a local Cork accent.

A local specialist coffee brand with three outlets to date - and with two pop-ups planned for the Christmas period - has just marked its tenth anniversary with the lease of a 700 sq m (7,560 sq ft) warehouse for its storage and coffee bean roasting needs: it has joined a clutch of others such as Cork Coffee Roasters, Velo, Mahers, SOMA as well as West Cork Coffee and Stone Valley amongst other roasters operating locally.

Bean counter: deal done on 700 sq m Unit 21 in city's Southside Ind Estate at €70,000 pa via Cohalan Downing's Ed Hanafin

Coffee house Three Fools – founded by Gary McKeating and Kevin Foley - which has outlets on Cork city’s Grand Parade in a glass pod, as well as in suburban Douglas Court and in Carrigaline at Millstream Lane off Main Street which opened in 2022, has just inked a warehouse lease for c €70,000 per annum.

Orlando Bloom enjoying Three Fools Coffee in Cork city. Picture: Ronan Murphy

To support the growth and bean roasting business (its products mix sell in well-branded readily identifiable packaging) the 2015-founded company Three Fools Coffee ltd has secured the 700 sq m  Unit 21 at the city’s Southside Industrial Estate near Pouladuff Road and Forge Hill.

Three Fools is already located nearby in a smaller unit, initially 140 sq m, later doubled in size to a combined 280 sq m, said co-founder Gary McKeating, adding the company now employs 30, including in its wholesale  operation and via a related company linking it to international roasters which it acquired recently, beans.ie.

Co-founders Kevin Foley, left and Gary McKeating,  right

Also near the South Ring Road/N40 and N27 Kinsale Road, the premises was put up to let in summer via Edward Hanafin of Cohalan Downing and has a two storey office/ service block with 1,473 sq ft on each of the floors plus 4,580 sq ft in the warehouse section for storage.

According to Mr Hanafin, “there is very limited availability of warehouse/ commercial units particularly on the southside of the city and there was good interest.” 

Neighbouring occupiers around Southside Industrial are Premier Auto Parts, EZ Living Furniture, Nat Ross, Sam Dennigan & Co and Douglas Gymnastics Club.

DETAILS: Cohalan Downing 021-4277717.