New owners promise to bring back 'former glory'

The landmark Bewley's Cafe on Westmoreland Street, Dublin, which has been closed for almost two years, has been sold to a three-party consortium for about €25 million.

In a deal which reached completion within the last fortnight, Campbell Bewley Ltd has sold the 5,530sq m premises, which extends around the corner into Fleet Street, to a group which includes property developer Simon Kelly, the Thomas Read Group, and Col Campbell, the former managing director of Bewley's Oriental Cafes.

The site includes two bars, a hotel and the old Bewley's Cafe which traded on Westmoreland Street since 1896 and closed its doors on November 30th, 2004 along with its sister cafe on Grafton Street.

The Grafton Street cafe reopened last year under the management of restaurateurs Jay Bourke and Eoin Foyle, retaining the Bewley's name, and now houses a cafe and two restaurants. A similar redevelopment is planned by the new owners. The cafe which fronts onto Westmoreland Street will be renovated and redeveloped, O'Sullivan's pub next door will be refurbished, but there are no plans yet for the basement level Bridge bar. A new restaurant will be opened on the Fleet Street side.

The project will be led by the Thomas Read Group, which owns some of Dublin's most well-known pubs, including the Bailey on Duke Street, Searson's on Baggot Street, the Dawson Lounge and Ron Blacks on Dawson Street, the Harbourmaster in the IFSC, and six bars in Dublin airport. The company has also recently refurbished the Winding Stair cafe at the Ha'penny Bridge and reopened it as a restaurant.

Thomas Read managing director Mark Leavey said the development would restore Bewley's to its former glory.

"There will be a new coffee shop that will be beautiful and elegant and will bring the old cafe back to its former glory . . . the beautiful elegant rooms on Fleet Street will be home to a stunning new restaurant which will retain the wonderful stained glass windows," he said.

Planning permission already exists for a number of features, including the cafe, and Mr Leavey said he hopes construction will start early next year, with an opening date before the end of 2007. "We believe it will be a stunner," he said.

A spokesman for Campbell Bewley said last night he could not confirm the sale. However, he said the company was in "exclusive discussions with one party".

The sale would represent a "total divestment" of Campbell Bewley's interest in the property, he said, and any new cafe would not retain the Bewley's name. Any involvement of Col Campbell in the project was in a personal capacity, he added.

Damien Cassidy of the Save Bewley's Campaign said a new cafe would "put the heart back into Westmoreland Street".