Junior Chamber National Friendly Business Awards

14th October 2015

Cork is proud to boast Perry Street Café as Ireland’s Friendly Business for Shop layout and Walk Shoes as national runner-up for Eco-Friendliness in the Junior Chamber National Friendly Business Award competition.

The Friendly Business Awards is a Junior Chamber national flagship business program where the pivotal role small businesses play in our local community is acknowledged.

Companies enter one or more of the 6 categories: Social Friendliness, Customer Care, Digital Experience, Disability Access, Eco-Friendliness, Shop Layout/Design.

Perry Street Café and Walk Shoes were Cork winners, overcoming strong competition from over 190 nominations that were submitted for the awards. Over the month of July the Friendly Business Awards committee organised a mystery shop for all 190 nominations and judging took place in August by the panel of sponsors which included Evening Echo, RedFM, Clayton Hotel Silver Springs, and Cork Chamber of Commerce.
These winners which included Educogym for Customer Care, Verso Social Friendliness, Optimal Chiropractic for Disability Access EIL Ireland for Digital Experience. Perry Street Café took home the award as overall winner.
Those winners then proceeded to the national stage where a panel of judges selected the top businesses nationally. The winners were announced at the Junior Chamber National Convention in Donegal.

Perry Street:

Brian Drinan and Paul Coffey of Perry Street Café had a vision, a vision that grew from their passion for entertaining and good food and in August 2013 Perry St Market Cafe opened its doors.

Searching for a premises took 1 year and when we stumbled upon a former furniture store which had fallen into serious disrepair on a little known street called Perry St we knew we had found a gem of a space although there was a mammoth task ahead the high ceilings, large windows and fantastic feeling of space couldn't be passed.

Often with more luck than judgement we set out to create something amazing, fantastic coffee, fantastic food and lots to look at, a space for everyone. To our delight it worked and Perry St became a hit with the people of Cork.

Two years on we have 3 outlets, City centre, Northpoint Business Park and Citygate Business Park in Mahon. We always knew that we wanted to bring really good food to the suburbs and this drove our decision to expand. People’s attitude to what they were consuming had changed drastically over the last number of years and Perry St was ready to fill that market.

While the company has grown we still hold the same values as day one, that feeling that you are not entering a restaurant chain and that every customer has a good time, somewhere they will return to. We hope that we will always meet our customers’ needs and we focus very much on this aspect of our business.

Winning Ireland’s friendliest business for Shop Layout is a fantastic achievement, not just for Perry St as a company but for all the team who we know work so hard to maintain the highest standards.

Of course we need to mention our lovely customers for their support since opening.

Cork is a wonderful place to do business in, the best of produce, fantastic suppliers and of course the magic that only Cork people have.

Bio on Walk Shoes:
Walk Shoes of Paul Street promotes a philosophy of functionality, quality and simplicity.

The Walk Shoes team consists of Joe and Fiona Breen Mum and Dad, their daughter Holly and Holly’s partner Barry.

Walk Shoes is a leading Irish independent lifestyle shoe and accessories brand for women. Offering an ever evolving unique range of functional products for everyday life. They are a company who get excited about traditional leather manufacturing processes and designs.
Eco-friendliness is very important to Walk Shoes which is the core of their business model, purposefully searching for and selling imaginative brands and makers from around the world that are environmentally conscious.
They have worked hard on building a reputation for offering collections and products that stand the test of time. Some of their labels are niche and original including Trippen, El Naturalista and The Art Company. As well as selling other instantly recognisable brands like Dr. Martens, Ugg Australia, Camper and Hunter.

Walk Shoes

As national runner-up in the countrywide search for Ireland’s most eco-friendly businesses, Walk Shoes of Paul Street promotes a philosophy of functionality, quality and simplicity.
The Walk Shoes team is a true family affair with Joe and Fiona Breen their daughter Holly and Holly’s partner Barry running the show.

Walk Shoes is a leading Irish independent lifestyle shoe and accessories brand for women, offering an ever evolving unique range of functional products for everyday life. They are a company who get excited about traditional leather manufacturing processes and designs to bring to the people of Cork.

Eco-friendliness is at the core of their business model, purposefully sourcing and selling products from imaginative brands and manufacturers from around the world that are environmentally conscious.

They have worked hard on building a reputation for offering collections and products that stand the test of time. Some of their labels are niche and original including Trippen, El Naturalista and The Art Company and this is complemented by a range of more household brands like Dr. Martens, Ugg Australia, Camper and Hunter.

As been selected as one of Ireland’s eco-friendliest business, Holly has started ‘We are thrilled to be recognised as a runner up in JCI Eco Friendly awards. We strive to be environmentally friendly in all our choices in business and feel that everyone has a part to play concerning our environment. Thank you for the recognition by Junior Chamber it has been an honour’.

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