Fallon & Byrne closes loss-making Rathmines outlet

Fallon & Byrne, the high-profile food hall, wine bar and restaurant group, has confirmed it is closing its Rathmines branch with immediate effect.

Staff in the Dublin 6 outlet, which was located in the Swan centre in Rathmines, were told the store would no longer be operating.

On Thursday morning, the company released a statement confirming the closure, which it said was for financial reasons: “Unfortunately, the location was loss-making and, while the decision was a very difficult one, we believe that acting decisively is what’s best for the business overall.”

The store, which opened in 2017, was the biggest of the group’s three outlets at almost 10,000sq feet.

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Originally opened to emulate a New York-style epicurean market hall, the company was founded in 2006 at the tail-end of the last economic boom by investors, including Dublin property developer Paul Byrne and his wife Fiona McHugh, the former editor of the Irish edition of the Sunday Times newspaper.

Its flagship outlet, which features a food hall on the ground floor, a wine bar in the basement and large restaurant and function hall on the top floor, is located on Exchequer Street in Dublin city centre.

The group also operates another outlet in Dun Laoghaire, in the south of the city, which opened in 2014.

Earlier this year, the group, which has annual sales of about €15 million and employs about 350 staff, indicated it is seeking to double in size over the next five years.

It is planning a large extension at its Exchequer street premises and a new retail outlet at Connolly railway station in Dublin, which may set the template for a wider retail rollout.

The group will also open a major new outlet in Dundrum Town Centre, once an extension there is built in coming years.

Fallon & Byrne entered examinership in December 2011, and emerged from the process in April 2012. The firm was unable to pay a €1.4 million tax bill, but was profitable when historic and current tax liabilities were not taken into account, the court was told at the time. New investment of €1 million was secured.