Nolans will be state of art
When Nolans Victuallers open up again in their refurbished premises, customers will see a state-of-the art shop which is probably the best of its kind in the country.
The expanded retail end of the operation will have dedicated areas for a much wider range of foods, including spices, wines, cooked meats, fresh meats, poultry and fish.
Superb display and service counters will also offer much more room for customers to see and choose their purchases, as well as providing an easier interface with staff.
The development also provides a new entrance for customers who come by car, with a 60-car parking area accessible from opposite the church, from which a covered way will bring them into the shop area.
But behind and above the ultra-modern shop there will be an unseen part of the multi-million euros investment which will truly put Nolans at the top of their trade in the country.
There are two key elements: staff facilities and processing procedures, both carefully integrated.
Employees coming to work will first use their own changing rooms, which are fully equipped with showers and gender-separated, to get into their working clothes before gaining any access to the processing operation. They also have their own canteen upstairs, where there are also offices and meeting rooms for the management staff.
From the meat processing point of view, a brand new abbatoir has been included in the development. This links to the new processing halls, through which all the cutting and boning and preparation is done, with every stage and piece monitored by computerised bar code systems right to the point of payment by the individual customer in the shop.
Extensive chilled storage facilities have also been included in the development, so that at no stage between processing and sale to the customer is there any possibility of the produce being open to contamination.
"For me it is a dream come true," says James, the fourth generation of the Nolan family to manage the business. "This is the kind of operation that I have always dreamed of."
The move back to the new premises will be two stage, with the shop opening on December 4, and the processing area due for commissioning on 18 December.
The first customer for the new shop has already been selected, and will be served by Andy Nolan, as a symbol of the continuity of the business. An official opening is pencilled in for next spring.
Brian Byrne.
[NOTE: At the time of writing, it was too soon to take photographs. We'll update this article with pictures after the re-opening.]
