Inside the seven-figure investment at South Mall’s former bar Electric

Bought for €2m by the Emporium Company and renovated for a "seven figure sum",  the new pub is set to open on May 22 

Still under wraps, but due to open on May 22, The Merchant on South Mall now occupies the premises formerly known as Electric Bar. Picture: Noel Sweeney

Drum roll please...after months of spirited debate, late-night amendments, and several proposals shot down on the grounds that the name might not sound right after a few pints, the pub formerly known as Electric is to re-open and trade as: The Merchant.

Following a six month renovation, Cork City’s newest bar at the Grand Parade end of South Mall is gearing up for a May 22 opening — just in time for round 5 of the Munster senior hurling championship, when Cork face Clare at Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh. The pub will have “a huge focus” on sport, said publican Ronan Murphy, and will prioritise “beverages over food”.

Renovations in full swing at The Merchant, 41 South Mall

Formerly owned by Ernest Cantillon, the premises was bought off-market at the end of 2023  by the Emporium Company in a €2m deal. The group, which includes Mr Murphy, has since invested “a seven figure sum” transforming the building. The interior has been re-jigged to create a “cosy” ground floor bar, while the first floor space, named the Beamish Room, will be available for private hire, gigs, and weekend overflow.

Mr Murphy said The Merchant will be “the only bar in the city where you can sit inside and have a pint and still be right beside the river”.

View from the new Ladies' loo at The Merchant

“It’s unique in that sense,” he said, noting that the rear windows are just a few feet above the River Lee.

The venue will employ about 30 staff, with capacity for 200 customers downstairs and 160 overhead.

A new riverside entrance will provide direct access to the Beamish Room, named in honour of William Beamish, the Cork merchant who co-founded the Beamish & Crawford brewery in 1792.

Mr Murphy said the decision to re-name the bar The Merchant was a nod to the businessmen who were instrumental in shaping the city’s prosperity, dubbed “Merchant Princes”.

Publican Ronan Murphy pictured at his new pub, The Merchant

“The whole naming process was laborious,” he said, adding that they “spent weeks and weeks chatting about it and drawing up lists”. “We thought about all the merchants that had contributed to the city and when you get into it, it’s a total rabbit hole. In the end instead of using just one merchant’s name, we landed on The Merchant.” Attaching the Beamish name to the function room was a nod to the name of the old bar in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, he said.

The acquisition of Electric by the Emporium Company marks their first hospitality venture in the city, adding to a portfolio that includes the Tradehouse in Ballincollig, JJ Coppingers in Midleton, The Castle in Glanmire, and Mabel Lane in Carrigaline.

Mr Murphy said they were hopeful customers of their suburban bars would also visit their new city venue.

The premises when it was still Electric

Commercial interior designer Paul Haffey — who did Mabel Lane — is also looking after The Merchant, where features include a mahogany bar counter, burgundy wall panelling, a new (salvaged) fireplace with wood-burning stove, display cabinets for maritime and GAA memorabilia, and two small stage areas on each of two floors. Live entertainment is planned seven days a week, including trad sessions, comedy, and various gigs in the function room — which can double as a meeting room during the week.

Care has been taken with the building’s distinctive art deco-style exterior, which dates to 1930, when it was built by two O’Shea brothers returning to Cork from Chicago after the 1929 Wall Street crash.

O'Shea's Ford dealership, 41 South Mall

 It was built in what was then an ‘experimental’ steel and concrete frame, and served for a time as a Ford Motor dealership.

As part of the rejig by its latest owners, loos have been moved upstairs, the main bar has been opened up, and there are plans for a snug. Rose Construction is handling the build work, with joinery by Allwood. The new owners — who also include Rory O’Doherty, Derek Walshe, and Jim McCarthy — are liaising with Cork City Council about improvements to the riverside boardwalk where there are plans to seat up to 80 people, some on South Mall.

The Merchant's riverside setting

“The overall aim is to create a really good city-centre pub,” Mr Murphy said, “at a time when the city is experiencing renewed momentum in hospitality and regeneration.” Cork City Council has invested multi millions on public realm upgrades on nearby Grand Parade and South Main St in the past two years, with more public realm improvements near completion at the far end of South Mall. Meanwhile, directly across the river from The Merchant, the long-idle former tax office site is poised for redevelopment if builder/developer BAM is cleared for a student accommodation project.

Mr Murphy said it was “a big commitment” on behalf of the Emporium Company to take on the new venture, “but we are delighted to be part of the hospitality sector in the city centre”.

“There’s great positivity around tourism and hospitality and we are delighted to be able to contribute to that,” he said.

The east facing view of the River Lee from the first floor landing at The Merchant.

The past few months have been a busy period for pub sales in Cork City and suburbs, with multiple high profile deals, starting with the purchase of The Wilton bar in January by well known publican Paul Montgomery for about €3m. Since then,West Cork businessman Damien Long has bought The Viaduct on Bandon Road for more than €2m, with plans to turn it into a transport and travel hub; Reidy’s Vault Bar on Western Rd sold for around €600,000 to a buyer with a food hospitality background; an offer of €1.9m has been accepted by the vendors of pub/restaurant Paddy the Farmers on Summerhill South; Bull McCabe’s on Kinsale Road sold for €730,000; The Grange bar is sold for more than €1m; talks are underway with a Dublin-based restaurant operator in relation to Tequila Jack’s on Lapps Quay, guiding at €1.3m, and The Model Farm bar on Model Farm Rd is sale agreed at the guide of €1.2m.

• Catherine Shanahan is Deputy Property Editor