There was certainly plenty of community spirit on show at the recent ‘Taste of Salthill’ event held at the Bank of Ireland Salthill branch where fantastic food and other services from many of the local businesses were on show for all to experience.
If you happened to be near the Salthill branch last Friday then it would have been near to impossible not to be enticed by the delicious scent of food, bringing you ever closer to the Supermac’s stand outside where an endless supply of mouth-watering burgers were handed to grateful bank customers before they were met by even more tempting morsels inside. The local fast-food restaurant was taking part in the ‘Taste of Salthill’ event which included the showcasing of foods, products, and services by other local businesses such as The Galleon, Mocha Beans, Gourmet Tarts, O’Connors Bakery, KC Blakes, and Mortons of Galway.
Supported by the Bank of Ireland Salthill branch the ‘Taste of Salthill’ event, part of the national Enterprise Week, was aimed at promoting Salthill and developing it as a destination to dine. According to branch manager Declan Russell “there are up to 40 places to eat in Salthill” and the businesses, not all customers of the bank, came together to help promote Salthill. Mr Russell explained that the event also aimed to promote the ‘I Love Salthill’ website which is an effort by representatives in the community to build a forum to promote local businesses and events.
“The ‘Taste of Salthill’ event is about enabling various food businesses to display some of their food and about developing the brand of ‘I Love Salthill’. Enterprise Week is taking place throughout the branch network but this event is unique to the Salthill branch. The idea came about during a recent ‘I Love Salthill’ gathering and a number of local businesses were contacted, asked would they be interested, and they jumped at the chance. Events during Enterprise Week offer businesses the opportunity to promote their product and services. Our event is different in that we specifically wanted to go for a food day. Salthill isn’t a late night place anymore but there’s still a vibrancy in its own right. It’s a real destination to dine, it is a place where you can park during the day, a place for ladies to lunch, and where the publicans benefit from people going for a few drinks after a lovely meal in the restaurants,” said Mr Russell.
Although not himself exhibiting, Frank O’Connor of O’Connor’s pub, a Salthill landmark for more than 70 years, was there to lend his support to the local businesses. Speaking to the Advertiser Mr O’Connor said: “Salthill has seen a lot of changes, for the good mainly. It’s more about the local trade now. Over the years there have been various nightclubs but now there are more restaurants, it’s really now a place to dine and then go for a quiet drink somewhere after. Events like this are great for getting more publicity for Salthill.”
Fresh from cooking yet another helping of tasty burgers Anthony O’Reilly of Supermac’s, Salthill took time out to say: “It’s still a village, we all know each other. The Salthill Supermac’s branch sponsors local clubs, we’re very much a community based business.”
“It is extremely important to remind people that there is so much happening and available in Salthill,” said Roger O’Sullivan, managing director of the family restaurant The Galleon which recently celebrated more than 45 years in business. “There are up to 40 places to eat, statistics show that there are up to 20 licensed premises, thousands of people are living locally, and thousands upon thousands are visiting Salthill every day. For The Galleon being part of an event like this definitely helps to get the name out there, to create an awareness of the business which has been long established but sometimes forgotton. Salthill is definitely coming strong again,” said Mr O’Sullivan, who also praised the ‘I Love Salthill’ website for helping to promote all aspects of the area including the ‘Kick The Wall’ trail which has taken the Galway prom walker tradition of kicking the wall at Blackrock and turned it into an attraction with 14 points of historical interest set up along the prom.
Also praising the ‘Taste of Salthill’ event was Cathal Keogh of Mocha Beans who said: “Enterprise Week is a great way to showpiece goods and services. It creates awareness on the eateries and enterprises in the area. It also promotes community spirit, it gets everyone together. These are times when it can be difficult to show off your goods so it is very important to be out there, getting in touch with the customers. Mocha Beans has now moved on from just selling coffee, since November 1 we’ve started selling beans wholesale to cafes, bars, and offices. So, we’re now selling our beans to the masses.”
