Two new fastfood restaurants are opening up in the midlands this week.
The second Wendy’s restaurant in Ireland opens today in Tullamore in Co Offaly, while Applegreen will open its first Popeyes restaurant at Midway, Junction 17 on the M7 at Portlaoise on Friday, June 26.
The opening of the Wendy’s restaurant in Tullamore follows the launch of its first Irish location at Mahon Point Shopping Centre in Cork last year.
Operated in Ireland through a development agreement with Corrib Oil and The Wendy’s Company, the new Tullamore restaurant has created more than 60 jobs locally.
With plans to expand to ten locations over the coming years, Corrib Oil expects its Wendy’s workforce to grow to 300 restaurant team members in Ireland.
Additional site announcements are expected in the period ahead.
Phillip Monks, Chief Marketing Officer at Corrib Oil, said the opening of the Tullamore restaurant marks another exciting milestone for Wendy’s in Ireland and reflects the strong response the brand has received since entering the market.
“The level of customer interest, engagement and support we have experienced has been hugely encouraging. We look forward to bringing Wendy’s fresh food to even more communities across Ireland over the coming years,” he added.
Michael Clarke, Managing Director, Europe at The Wendy’s Company, said that Corrib Oil has proven to be a strong partner.
“We’re excited to continue bringing Wendy’s ‘globally great, locally loved’ experience to more customers across Ireland as we expand further across the country,” he added.
Meanwhile Applegreen is to open its first Popeyes restaurant at Midway at Portlaoise on Friday.
Popeyes opened its first restaurant in Blanchardstown at the start of the month. It plans to open an additional site in the Republic at Liffey Valley in Dublin in the coming months.
Applegreen will open its first Popeyes restaurant in Portlaoise this week
Applegreen has created 40 jobs at Midway and has been training staff at Popeyes locations in Northern Ireland and Britain in advance of this week’s opening.
The Midway opening follows Applegreen’s recent announcement that it intends to create 450 new jobs over the next four years, as it rolls out Popeyes chicken restaurants in a €6m expansion programme.
“We’re delighted to be bringing Popeyes to our customers at Midway in Portlaoise, and we look forward to welcoming customers from this Friday,” said Seamus Stapleton, Managing Director of Applegreen’s Republic of Ireland business.
“We’re continuing to grow and expand the Applegreen business in Ireland, and our new partnership with Popeyes means we can offer another high-quality restaurant brand to customers on the move,” he added.
“The opening of our new Midway restaurant marks the start of our new partnership with Applegreen, and we look forward to working closely with them to deliver new restaurants in roadside locations across the Republic of Ireland,” Popeyes UK and Ireland Chief Development Officer Tom Byng said.