27 November 2015
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
It’s one of Cork’s most unusual Restaurants; not because it’s old, not because a famous person once visit, but because of its location, location, location.
The Restaurant at Curraheen Park Greyhound track (or ‘the dog track’ as we refer to it locally) has joined the Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI).
It’s part of a National arrangement between the Irish Greyhound Board (IGB), with restaurants in nine stadia nationwide to join.
The IGB stadia offer in excess of 4,000 restaurant seats weekly, making them one of the largest members under The Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) umbrella. Other IGB Venues can be found in all major Irish towns and cities including Dublin, Galway, Limerick, Mullingar, Newbridge, Tralee and Waterford.
Restaurants in the IGB Stadia are operated by Events & Hospitality Services (EHS), the catering arm of the Irish Greyhound Board. EHS assumed management and operation of the stadium restaurant’s in early 2015, having previously run on a franchise model.
Philip Peake, Head of EHS, said “I see membership of the RAI as a key development for Greyhound Stadia nationwide. We are just beginning the busiest period of the year, where we will cater for an estimated 28,000 people in our restaurants during the Christmas Party season, however by the end of the year we will have fed over 400,000 in our venues!”
Adrian Cummins, CEO of the Restaurant of Association of Ireland said “We are delighted to welcome the IGB restaurant group as the newest member of our association. We look forward to working with the stadiums nationwide to promote the Irish restaurant industry and to continue to grow employment both locally and nationally”
The Restaurant Association of Ireland, formed in 1970, represents in excess of 1,400 members across a range of establishments, including full service restaurants, coffee shops, hotel restaurants, gastropubs, golf clubs and cookery schools.
