By Barry Coughlan
Don’t expect wall to wall televisions adorning one of Dungarvan, County Waterford’s most recognized pub restaurants these days.
Pre-Pandemic ‘The Local’ in Dungarvan County Waterford was known as a popular pub in the attractive harbor town; now the drinks license merely sits happily alongside a food menu that has transformed the venue into a must-visit experience.
Last orders were called on usual pub trade and usual life in general in March 2020 when owners Donnchadh and Helena (Gough) decided to focus on an area of the business that was already doing well but not all on offer.
However, The Local’s dining menu was always popular with regulars, featuring a variety of locally caught seafood, great burgers and a list of home-cooked dining options all made with the most locally available ingredients.
Speaking of that transition Helena who has spearheaded the food drive pointed out: “While Covid lockdowns were incredibly difficult for the pub trade we knew that we had a popular food offering, it was something we never pushed and the lockdown gave us the opportunity to revisit that, look at the entire business offering and really place a lot of attention on an area of the business that is a huge passion for me.
“We were blown away by the response that we received and thought perhaps it was an initial novelty but we found we had repeat customers week after week and actually sold out every night.
“It was far busier than we ever expected. So much so that we decided to re-position our entire business offering from a pub focus to food and now since lockdowns have lifted this focus remains in place. We couldn’t be happier about that decision.”
In keeping with the change of emphasis, the TV screens were removed from the bar; the toilets, public area and overall dining layout were refigured and a new outdoor heated dining area has now become a focal point in the town square.
The Local now features lunch, evening and weekend menus with every dish being homemade and featuring an abundance of award-winning locally sourced ingredients.
Seafood is a focal point with a delicious home-made Helvick Head Seafood Chowder on offer accompanied by Helena’s own brown bread, and the list of innovative menu inclusions goes on to include all of the courses one would expect in premises to enhance Dungarvan’s growing reputation as the food capital of Waterford and the sunny south east.
There may be no televisions, but clients can expect an emphasis on music, and particularly Irish traditional music, to break out occasionally.
Donnchadh’s role may be mainly front of house, but he is an accomplished musician and plays both the Uileann pipes and Bodhran.
Donnchadh grew up in a musical atmosphere as part of the Mooney family in the nearby Gaeltacht coastal hamlet of An Rinn, where his musical interest was virtually a given, starting from the tender age of ten.
Since his youth, as one of the founding members of the internationally acclaimed band Danu, he has toured the world and traditional music will, therefore, always be a part of what makes The Local a somewhat different and very interesting food venue.
The Local is open 7 days per week and can be found at Grattan Square in Dungarvan County Waterford and online at www.thelocal.ie.
Further news from Dungarvan is the revelation that the popular Park Hotel has become a four-star venue.
The Park is part of the multi-award winning Fynn Hotel Collection, and has been officially awarded a new 4-star rating under the Fáilte Ireland Hotel Classification Scheme. This achievement comes on the back of a 5-year program of refurbishments and investments to the tune of $3.2 million.
The Park Hotel is situated on its own five acres of landscaped gardens in the harbor town overlooking the Colligan Estuary, with the famous Waterford Greenway just around the corner.
The family friendly hotel has 84 bedrooms, 15 high standard self catering holiday homes, conference and dining choices plus and a newly refurbished Riverside Health Club, which includes a 20m swimming pool, changing facilities, gym, sauna and steam room.
The drive to move up a star rating has been a passion project for General Manager Declan Moriarty, fully supported by owner of the hotel Pierce Flynn and made possible by a dedicated hotel team. The Park employs 151 people locally and is a haven for holiday makers looking to explore the sunny south-east, the Greenway and Copper Coast.
Recent investments and upgrades at the hotel have included both big projects and smaller ones attending to finer details – all with the goal of ensuring the best possible guest experience.
The hotel has in recent times converted a shipping container into a stylish outdoor bar and unveiled a new look lobby and bedroom corridors.
They also completed a soft refurbishment on all hotel bedrooms to refresh the look and feel of absolute comfort, and great effort has been put into the launch of new dining spaces ‘The Bistro’ and ‘Grattans’.
The hotel also announced the appointment of Peter Marshall as the new Head Chef to oversee a reinvigorated culinary direction for the hotel.
Commenting on the achievement of the 4-star rating General Manager Declan Moriarty said: “We are delighted to have received the official confirmation from Fáilte Ireland of our new rating. The road to achieving this has been paved with a significant investment in upgrades to ensure we continue to give guests the best possible experience with all the modern comforts and amenities discerning customers expect.
“The Park Hotel has long been known for its superb welcome, high level of hospitality and outstanding location next to the Waterford Greenway, so this is a further positive step to future proof our appeal as a destination hotel for families, golfers, corporate travel clients, wedding business and more.”
Pierce Flynn (Owner) also welcomed the news saying “I am thrilled to get the fourth star; it is a wonderful recognition of our fantastic team and our ties to the community here in Dungarvan. I believe this clearly positions The Park as one of the premier destination hotels in the Southeast, and it is a source of great personal pride that it has joined our sister hotels as four star properties.”
To celebrate this achievement the hotel has launched a celebratory ‘4 Star Staycation Package’ which features two overnights with breakfast, a bespoke 4-star themed afternoon tea and a four course evening meal.
Packages starts from €290 per room.
For more see www.parkhoteldungarvan.com. @parkhoteldungarvan on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter