Kerry eatery with permission to extend on sale for €1.5m

Jack's Coastguard Restaurant, a top Kerry seafood destination on the Wild Atlantic Way, offers a €1.5m investment with 28-room expansion approval and cottages.

Jack's Coastguard Restaurant, Lower Cromane, Killorglin,Co Kerry

Jack’s Coastguard Restaurant, a well-known Kerry hospitality venue with a reputation for great seafood, has been put on the market with a guide price of €1.5m.

The sale, which includes three, two-bed self-catering coastguard cottages, comes at a time when full planning permission is in place to renovate and extend the existing 844.5 sq m premises to add 28 guest bedrooms and a function room.

The setting for the venue is superb: Lower Cromane is nestled in Castlemaine Harbour, overlooking the Atlantic waters of Inch and Rossbeigh Peninsulas, at the heart of the Reeks District, and just five minutes off the scenic Ring of Kerry on the Wild Atlantic Way. The restaurant windows overlook the harbour and there’s an outdoor beer garden/patio.

The vendor/proprietor, Brian Keary, has put it on the market after 20 years of running the bar and restaurant, which once formed part of a coastguard station complex. While it is up for sale, Mr Keary would also consider an investor coming on board to fund the permitted 1,256 sq m expansion, as his two partners in the business are planning to retire.

“We host 20-25 weddings per year, seating 120-130 people, but currently, because we don’t have accommodation, we have to bus them in and out. My plan was to expand so that guests could stay overnight and we could extend our wedding business into the winter months. It’s an ideal setting,” Mr Keary said.

Notable drop-ins over the years include American actor John C Reilly (Gangs of New York, Magnolia, Boogie Nights) and well-known Dublin businessman Bill Cullen, who at one time owned Muckross Park Hotel in Killarney.

Jack’s Coastguard Restaurant, a fine coastal property, next to the seafront, near a favoured bathing area, dates back to 1866 when it was one of a network of coastguard stations installed under British rule to clamp down on smuggling, watch for ships in distress and as a base for coastal patrols.

In 1961, local man Jack Sugrue opened a pub across some of the six two-bed coastguard cottages that made up the station, which his father John had bought decades earlier. The pub part is known now as Jack’s Station Bar. To the rear is a large restaurant, added in 2008 by Brian and Gráinne Keary, who have owned and managed the premises since 2006 and employ 25 staff, a mix of part-time and fulltime. The restaurant seats 70-80 on a normal night, but can do two table turns per evening.

The property — which operates all year with the exception of January to facilitate staff holidays — is being sold as a going concern, albeit Mr Keary would ideally like an investor to buy in and “bring it to the next level”. Permission for the extension was granted at the end of 2024. Mr Keary said the property is “turn-key” and has lots of car parking. It can accommodate four staff above the pub.

Selling agent James Hillis of The Property Shop said the turnkey operation “has further potential to grow an already successful business... in a setting that is serene, picturesque and highly distinctive”.

“It offers a stunning setting for weddings and private celebrations, combining elegant dining, sea views and authentic coastal charm,” the agent said.

The nearest town is Killorglin, 8km away. It’s a 30 minute drive to Killarney and a 35 minute journey to Kerry Airport.

DETAILS: James Hillis, The Property Shop T: 0669473016 E: [e-mail]