A major bus company has bought one of Cork’s landmark restaurants. The well-known red brick property seen by thousands of Bandon Road commuters every day will be turned into a ‘fully-serviced modern roadside plaza’.
In the huge property sale, the Viaduct Restaurant has been sold to Dave Long Coach Travel Ltd., and plans are already in place to turn it into a major transport hub just outside the city. The bus company, which owns West Cork Connect, is planning a new service connecting West Cork to Dublin.
It will offer a new daily link between the two major cities and hopefully ‘take the stress out of city parking and traffic’ with a park-and-ride shuttle service every 30 minutes – from the Viaduct to stops around Cork.
For West Cork people making the long journey to Dublin, the new bus connection will make a huge difference. It also means people living in areas like Wilton and Bishopstown can avoid having to travel into Cork city centre to catch a bus to Dublin.
The introduction of the park-and-ride service, Dublin Connect service and on-site amenities will deliver a major boost in employment to the area, creating 50+ direct jobs and a substantial number of indirect jobs.
West Cork businessman, Damien Long of Dave Long Coach Travel Ltd, said: “This new project has been driven by a long-standing ambition to improve how people travel to and from West Cork while investing in a landmark location. We want to create a place that works for everyone, somewhere safe, well-lit and accessible at all hours, where you can grab a coffee from the modern roadside plaza, use proper facilities and travel with confidence, whether you’re heading into the city centre or making a longer journey to Dublin.”
“This is something I’ve been working towards for a long time,” he said. “The Viaduct, to me, marks the gateway to West Cork. When you pass through those arches, you’re arriving in West Cork, and I’ve always felt it should represent that. In fact, I believe the bridge is so iconic that when we started West Cork Connect back in 2019, we even incorporated it into our logo.”
The Viaduct Restaurant will close for business on Monday, 25th May. The team at the Viaduct want their customers to know that for the coming weeks, the focus remains firmly on welcoming guests and continuing to deliver the experience that customers know and value. During this time, there will be no disruption to day-to-day operations, and all existing bookings will be honoured in full. This includes all upcoming Communion and Confirmation celebrations, with guests assured that their plans will proceed exactly as arranged.
The property was put up for sale at an asking price of €1.6m earlier this year. Cliste Hospitality acquired it in 2022, undertook a full refurbishment of the Viaduct, and in recent years successfully brought it back to former glory as a respected food and drink business.
However, the well-known hospitality group said it was turning its attention to expanding its hotel portfolio and hotel management platform, and made the strategic decision to sell The Viaduct as it was “in a strong, stable position and well placed for its next phase of development, under new ownership.”
The area boasts rich history as a key location of the Great Southern and Western Railway network in the early 20th Century. The Chetwynd Viaduct bridge features four wide arches and stands an impressive 91 feet high. It was built in 1849 for the Cork and Bandon railway. Later, the iron viaduct was damaged during the 1922 Irish Civil War. And while it was repaired, it closed again in 1961 as the rail services were taken out of West Cork.
Further details for the new transport hub, including opening timelines, will be announced shortly.