A Derry husband and wife team behind some of the city’s best loved, independent eateries is planning to create 40 jobs as part of an expansion project to expand their Primrose cafe group.
Ciaran and Melanie Breslin – who started their enterprise by selling cupcakes made by Melanie in Ciaran’s butcher shops – now plan to open another premise to add to their growing portfolio of businesses.
Mr Breslin is a butcher by trade who has two shops and comes from a well-known family of butchers in the city.
He and his wife opened their first Primrose venture on Carlisle Road in Derry five years ago with just four staff members.
Today it has grown to a team of 78 people and they have just added their added another site to their group on Atlantic Quay.
The Breslins have now acquired and started work on a 6,000sq ft site on the Strand Road in Derry where they plan to branch into a day to night dining operation which will feature a café/restaurant and cocktail bar, as well as coffee to go and a takeaway lunch menu.
‘Scratch bakery’
The Breslins also plan to relocate their “scratch bakery” where all of Primrose’s bread and cakes are produced from scratch to Strand Road.
Mr Breslin believes that the butcher’s business is one of the reasons why Primrose has been such a hit with customers because they are able to deliver the best produce at the best price to their restaurants.
Both he and his wife are looking forward to the next phase of growing the family business.
“Primrose is our life and soul everything revolves around Primrose, so to see the new premises coming together is so exciting for us.
“We’re constantly trying to evolve the business and stay ahead of trends, so we’re confident this will be the start of something completely new for Derry,” he said.
