Cork's Crawford Gallery Café to close after over 35 years
Art Gallery Crawford First Crawford 1986 In Opened The Gallery, In The Café, Located
The Crawford Gallery Café in the heart of Cork city has announced that it will be closing its doors after over 35 years.
The café, which is located within the famous Crawford Art Gallery, has been a popular spot for breakfast and lunch in the city and has accumulated many regulars throughout the decades.
However, in a Facebook post on Wednesday, the Crawford Gallery Café announced that it would be closing this weekend for a two-week summer holiday and unfortunately, “and with great regret”, it will not be reopening its doors.
“This has been a very difficult decision to make, and we would like to thank all of our valued customers and friends for your loyal support over the years,” the post read.
In 1986 the café’s doors were first opened by Myrtle Allen of Ballymaloe House and her daughter, Fern. To this day, the café has continued to pride itself on Allen’s ethos of taking the very best quality food and cooking it simply and beautifully.
When the café first opened, food was prepared in and transferred from Ballymaloe House each day and a number of graduates of the Ballymaloe Cookery School, including Rachel Allen, earned their stripes at the much-loved city centre spot.
“Under the backdrop of post Covid we appreciate that there continues to be significant challenges in the industry," said Norma Cuddihy, Head of Operations Crawford Art Gallery. "While we are sorry to see the café close, we understand the decision to close was necessary."
The Crawford Gallery Café is open Tuesday-Saturday from 9am until 4pm. It will be closing its doors on Saturday, August 13.