Tír Deli is a Dublin seasonal Deli, specialising in Irish food that is delicious, local and sustainable; sourcing ingredients from farmers and growers in or close to Dublin. Head Chef and Managing Director, Shane Kelly and his staff are passionate about reducing food waste and using as every part of the ingredients they use.  With a breakfast and lunch menu and options to collect or receive delivery, by supporting Tír Deli, you are supporting all their supplier businesses too!.

Inspiration

“The inspiration for Tír came from when I was studying in Rome 10 years ago and all the foreign students were asked to make a dish from their home country for an international feast. All of the Irish team were lost on what to make as Irish food. This has stuck with me ever since.”

Research & overcoming hurdles

Shane struggled at first to find a premises for Tír Deli and didn’t want to give up on his dream. He decided to first test the waters by setting up stalls in various food markets.m

“I started with a food stall at markets because I couldn’t find a premises. That was the main hurdle. My friend John came to me with the opportunity in October 2020 after Covid had shaken everything up.”

Tír Deli has now opened a stunning restaurant in Baggot Street, serving the best of locally sourced Irish food.

Making the Decision to become Self Employed

Making the decision to become self -employed was easy and Shane was determined to make it happen. “I have wanted to be self -employed since I was a teenager. It just took a while to get there “

Biggest challenges & opportunities to date?

Like most entrepreneurs, Shane cites the Covid 19 pandemic as the biggest challenge for his business to date.

“The biggest challenges are the uncertainty surrounded covid and lockdowns, rising costs across the board, sourcing Irish ingredients, trying to estimate volumes so as to not waste or not run out and changing our menu seasonally.”

Shane believes that the biggest opportunities for his business have come from sticking to the three core principles of Tír, which are Irish, sustainable and delicious!

“I think people can see that we are committed to that rather than just talking about it so lots are reaching out to work with us. We are exploring more delivery and more of the deli side of our business at the moment to see what might be there.”

LEO Supports

“We received the Modos Innovation Award to implement and communicate a zero waste strategy in our business. This has made us think differently about our business and review areas that may have slipped by before.”, says Shane.

Adapting to Covid 19

Tír first opened it’s doors in the midst of the pandemic. So, for Shane, it feels normal for him to operate in the current way.

“We opened in the middle of Covid so don’t know another way yet. We are increasing our focus on delivery and getting our whole team involved in developing ideas to help combat the increasing lack of footfall.”

Winning the MODOS Innovation Award

The Tír Deli MODOS Innovation Award Project will explore ways to engage with customers to raise awareness about sustainable food and encourage them to reduce food waste.

 Winning the Award has shown Shane that there is a big need for the creation of beautiful food, which is one with nature and sustainable.

“Winning the MODOS Award means a lot to Tír. It shows that our idea for circular economy was understood and appreciated. We hope it will help us become a business that is more aligned with nature and our customers. For us, connection with nature is the most important part of a sustainability strategy. A circular economy approach combined with changing our menu seasonally and sourcing incredible Irish ingredients (both farmed and foraged), ties us more deeply with the environment around us.”

2022 & Beyond

“In 2022 we are hoping to collaborate more with Irish suppliers, both in developing our own menu and supporting other incredible producers. We are looking at crop plans with farmers, exciting product collaborations and reviewing more ways to reach our customers in a very uncertain year.” Shane and Tír Deli are certainly making their mark on the sustainable food industry.

Contact

Website: www.tirfood.ie

Email: hello@tirfood.ie

Instagram: www.instagram.com/tir_deli

Facebook: www.facebook.com/tirdeli