Eadaoin O’Sullivan speaks to five brave souls who have started new ventures in Dublin
Why open a business now, of all times, we asked. Two answers came back. One was a blunt, ‘Why not?’ – or, as John Farrell of Dillinger’s put it: “This is what I do – am I going to stop?” The other: “Because I can now, and I couldn’t before.”
Since rental costs have fallen off a cliff, people are seizing the chance to realise their dreams; dreams that were inconceivable a few years ago. We spoke to five entrepreneurs who started up ventures in the past few months, and – if they are at all representative of the general trend – there seems to be a new business model happening on Dublin’s streets: one which is profit-seeking, rather than profit-driven.
These newcomers are aware of the need to integrate into and actively seek the involvement of the communities in which they trade. In some cases, you could argue that the pursuit of profit at any cost has been jettisoned in favour of a more people-centric model based on passion, rather than the simple desire for cold hard cash.
Bob Johnston
The Gutter Bookshop
Ironically, this independent bookshop occupies the space where once stood high-end kitchen fittings store, Kitchenhaus. After demand for such things crashed along with property prices, Bob Johnston saw the chance to realise a dream he had harboured for 15 years. “In the boom years it wouldn’t have worked, in all honesty,” he tells us. “You couldn’t get property for love nor money. The few units that became available were so rotten you wouldn’t touch them.”
Bob has worked in the book trade for two decades – mainly for the big chains – and has come to the conclusion that “people are a bit fed up with the whole conglomerate thing – big, faceless shops that all seem quite generic.” He recalls the words of a former manager who instructed him that “no pile should be larger than 14 Jamie Olivers.” Bob laughs and shakes his head. “That’s a unit of measurement!”
With his Gutter Bookshop, Bob wants to get as far away as possible from that sausage-factory approach to bookselling. “Shopping is supposed to be enjoyable. It is a social activity and there’s more to it than taking money out of people’s hands.”
To that end, the shop hosts everything from poetry evenings to children’s craft afternoons. “Independent bookshops can’t compete on always being the cheapest or having the widest range, so it’s all about giving people a sense that they own part of you and that they’re involved with you. Doing events allows people to feel that they’re part of the business, which is really important. We’re dependent on our customers and our customers mean a hell of a lot to us. It’s important I think that when you shop somewhere you feel your money is appreciated.”
Cow’s Lane, Temple Bar, Dublin 8. 679 9206, gutterbookshop.com
Niall Crampton
Dublin City Hurls
Before Dublin City Hurls opened in October 2009, there was, according to Niall Crampton, nowhere in Dublin dedicated to either selling or repairing hurleys. “You could buy hurls in the mainstream sports shops, but they didn’t give you the range and choice.” As for repairs, “There were a few lads doing it in clubs, but it was just people doing an hour here or there. We saw an opportunity to set up a company where you can do it properly.”
DCH is a co-op of sorts which started life in Kevin’s Hurling Club in Dolphin’s Barn. The idea, says Niall, is to make the business self-sustaining, with any profits used to “pump something back into the development of hurling in the inner city.” Like Bob Johnston, Niall claims this type of operation would have been impossible during the boom years – rents were simply too high.
The staff at DCH are all young Dublin hurlers. Niall hopes they’ll learn not only about the craft of making and repairing hurls, but also about how to run a business, so they can one day strike out on their own.
288 Harold’s Cross Road, Dublin 6. 499 1731, dublincityhurls.ie
John Farrell
Dillinger’s
For John Farrell – who you’ll know from Dubliner favourite Il Primo on Montague Street – economic armageddon is an opportunity rather than a disaster. “I couldn’t have afforded to open this restaurant two years ago. Forget about it, it wouldn’t have happened.”
The previous tenant at number 47 was the wonderful but ill-fated Mint, which closed in April 2009 after just two years in business, having been awarded a Michelin star just three months before.
So what does John think is the key to success in these troubled times? “You have to have passion and you have to like what you do. You can tell the difference between places where the staff are actually into it and those where they’re not.”
John seems less driven by the money motive than by a genuine desire to bring good food and wine to the people of Dublin. (A good start, then, to partner up with the talented Temple Garner, ex Town Bar & Grill, who takes on cheffing duties here.) “It’s a tough business. It’s not something I would’ve chosen if I was into making a lot of money. If I wanted to make money I would’ve been a banker.”
When we ask him how he could think of opening a business now, his response is mildly incredulous: “What are you gonna do? You carry on and you adapt. Back [when I was planning Dillinger’s] I didn’t know things would be as bad in the economy as they are now. But even if I had known, it wouldn’t have stopped me.”
47 Ranelagh, Dublin 6. 497 8010, dillingers.ie
Quite apart from the joy of realising that the joie de vivre and entrepreneurship is still alive,despite years of being cloaked by the smog of industrialised greed, fuelled by our "betters';it is a joy to read an article that is so obviously in love with life.
Having lived through the collapse of the USSR, the dismantling of Maoism in China and the folly of Reganonomics/Thatcherism ,as manifest in the most recent collapse of the financial system, the wondrously amazing realisation that "ordinary" people remain,still the bedrock of civilisation.They retain the values of family and community and prove , once again the truth that the community is the seedbed of society.
Congratulations on a succinctly understated piece which demonstrates the wondrous resilience of people who manifest the reality that that light at the end of the tunnel is indeed "Hope"
Posted by: Eddy O Sullivan | March 21, 2010 at 06:55
Good article Dubliner :)
Posted by: J Darby, London | March 25, 2010 at 17:03