Joyce’s supermarkets celebrated a landmark 60 years in business last weekend when they marked the 60th anniversary of the first store opening in Headford. The chain has grown markedly in recent years with further stores opening in Knocknacarra, Athenry, and Tuam, but owner Pat Joyce is quick to recall the genesis of the business.
“It was all started by my father in a lock up shop in Headford, the store no bigger than a sitting room. Times were much different then and not as many people had cars, so the main part of the business was the travelling shop which sold goods door-to-door.
“Of course everyone wanted different things, so my father would carry everything from flour, to meat, to fertiliser, and livestock feed. There was even a bit of trading involved, particularly in eggs.
“People would often get groceries and pay for them in eggs. We’d bring the eggs into the markets on a Saturday, and anything that was left over then would be sold to the hotels,” he recalled.
Over the 60 years certain facets of the business have changed hugely. Pat has seen most of these changes first hand, and can remember the relative toils of the business’ formative years: “It was much more physical trade back then. We’re in an agricultural area so we’ve always had a wide variety of products. Gates, fertiliser, timber, feed, cement were all sold here and had to be unloaded manually.
“Christmas was particularly busy, a lot of goods like dried fruit and tea came in big cases and had to repackaged into pound bags. There were 10 of us in the family, seven girls and three boys and we’d all have worked in the shop since we were 10 or 11 so it was a great grounding for us”.
Of the 10, two still remain immersed in the business. Pat runs the supermarkets, while his twin brother Jim operates the hardware stores. Pat began his role in 1979, and soon after Joyce’s moved from their Church Road base to a new store on a three acre site on the Galway Road.
Jim subsequently returned from college to become involved in the hardware store in 1981. Their father Patrick C Joyce died aged just 56 in 1988 and Pat and Jim have continued on the family tradition in fine style. A new supermarket opened in Knocknacarra in 1999 and a further store in Athenry in 2005.
Last December saw another supermarket open in Tuam while the wheels have also been set in motion for a new store in Headford. A third generation of Joyces are also involved in the business, Pat’s four children and Jim’s six children are starting to work part time in the stores.
While the ethos of the business has always remained the same, the supermarket industry is a dynamic one, but one which Pat’s passion has helped him to keep on top of: “Right from day one, we have always tried to provide the best service and value we can.
“Business is a a passion, I grew up with it, it is in your blood. There is a lot of pressure, but every day is new and exciting. There are always new challenges in business. We have to adapt to the changes in the economy, the changes in people’s shopping habits and so there’s never a dull moment”
There have been many contributory factors in the Joyces’ success story and Pat is quick to thank all those that have been involved: “My mother has been wonderful, always full of help and support. We’d be no good without our staff and there would be no business without our customers. We really have to thank our loyal management team and staff, and the support of all the customers. We hope to continue to serve the people of Galway for many years to come”.
