Local Businesses Join Forces

While the current scenario of keeping The Curragh Racecourse open for business whilst simultaneously carrying out an extensive redevelopment programme provides more than a few headaches for those involved, it also opens up opportunities to those prone to lateral thinking. Whether remedial works are going on or not, paying customers to a Grade 1 racecourse are entitled to expect a high standard of catering options, and what better way to do that than to combine forces with some of the best local eating establishments. This season The Curragh has linked up with well- known Kildare Town hostelries Hartes Bar & Grill and The Silken Thomas along with Lock 13 and The Dew Drop Inn, which are based not far away in Sallins and Kill. Each venue has a high-end Gastropub feel to it, and they have formed a joint venture to provide some of their signature food and drinks to race-goers at every Curragh meeting this year.

While the 'food village' initiative at The Curragh is not a new one, this is the first time a group of suppliers have come together to work as a unit rather than competing against each other.

Brian Flanagan is the proprietor of The Silken Thomas and his brother Barry runs Lock 13. “Previously in the food village we operated out of six metre by three metre pods, whereas this season we will be working from a 25 metre by five metre fixed marquee,” Brian Flanagan explained. “My brother runs Lock 13 and Paul Lenehan, who runs Hartes and The Dew Drop Inn, is one of my best friends, so we decided that rather than having our brands competing against each other we would form a co-operative which would allow us to offer a better service and still maintain a presence for each establishment at the races.”

An arrangement such as this has advantages for each party involved. The racecourse benefits from a recognisable, respected business providing refreshments for those in attendance, while the service provider has an opportunity to showcase its specialties to a local and sometimes international audience, as seen on such occasions as the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby weekend or Tattersalls Guineas weekend. “We're also pooling our resources,” said Flanagan. “If takings are good on a day they'll be split evenly, if we have a bad day, the losses are minimised.”

One slight drawback of the concept of the outdoor food village–given the shortage of seating, cutlery, etcetera–is the requirement to serve 'street food,' or food that is easily consumed; one immediately thinks of burgers, hotdogs, noodle boxes, and the like. Giving the customer what they want and what is convenient whilst also trying to show some flair with signature dishes is a fine balancing act, and one which Flanagan is planning to implement as the season progresses. “We know that people tend to go for a gourmet burger or a portion of fish and chips and as they are the big ticket sellers, that is what we will provide,” he said. “However, as we find our feet we intend to roll out some of the signature dishes that pertain to each establishment to complement these offerings.”

From the racecourse management point of the view the new cooperative is seen as just one of many positive steps being taken to enhance the customer experience during a two-year transition period. Outlining this new ethos, Curragh Chief Executive Officer Derek McGrath revealed, “As we look forward to 2019, we are very conscious that just building a new facility is not going to achieve the vision that we have, which is to reposition The Curragh as the headquarters of flat racing. We're very conscious that we need to re-engage and to reconnect with the local community, many of whom even work in the industry but don't have The Curragh at the top of their list as a relevant place to visit.”

McGrath continued, “We need to fix that and part of that is working with local businesses. This is something that we are keen to develop, from what has been so far an 'event by event' relationship to what is now a season commitment to come in and take over the public offering of food for visitors to our race meetings. We're delighted because it's also a mutually beneficial arrangement. They're striving businesses in their own locality and it's an opportunity for them to show people what they can do.”

In a ruthlessly competitive market each establishment is constantly trying to maintain a strong position, and one way of doing that is to diversify. Both The Dew Drop Inn and Lock 13 brew their own craft beers so they will, in essence, be providing a one-stop shop for race-goers who are both hungry and thirsty. Hartes Bar & Grill and The Dew Drop Inn fall under the business umbrella of Paul Lenehan and fellow director Ronan Kinsella, and Lenehan didn't take much convincing to run with the joint venture when discussing the concept with his business partners and the Curragh team.

“It made a lot of sense to join forces as myself, Barry and Brian have known each other a long time,” he explained. “We've worked on projects before and we know we can get along and just make the most of it. There are a lot of synergies and each establishment brings something unique to the party. While there isn't a huge amount of scope in what food we can offer, we brew a lot of our own craft beers, which we will be showcasing and we are rolling out several different brands of Irish Gin, so we think we will be offering something a bit unique.”

While fully embracing the current concept, Lenehan is also keeping one eye on the future and is one of a number of people looking forward to the culmination of the development project and the unveiling of the new facilities, which will include, among other things, a full-time restaurant open all year round. For now, though, all efforts are going into ensuring this joint venture gets off to the best possible start. While Lenehan was hoping for a busy opening weekend, the cautious side of him was hoping for a 'pre-Guineas warm up' to ensure any issues get ironed out before what promises to be a busier weekend on May 27 and 28. It appeared everything went smoothly: the weather was kinder on Sunday and trade was satisfactory, with Lenehan happy that all systems are now in place for a successful season- long venture. “Trade was steady, we weren't inundated but I was kind of glad in some respects because it gave us a gauge on staffing requirements, stocking, etcetera, so we should be all the wiser come Guineas weekend.”

This correspondent, for one, has been fortunate enough to have frequented each of the establishments in the past and can confirm that they have successfully transplanted many of their offerings to The Curragh, which should go a long way in keeping patrons well fed and watered over the course of the year.