Why new owner of Co Down restaurant was ready to take a ‘big step’

Caorlan McAllister has worked for two major pub operators in Northern Ireland, one of which came to a shock end in insolvency 11 years ago.

But after “quite a journey” through hospitality, including being made redundant twice, he and wife Ciara have now taken over well-known bar and and restaurant The Halfway House outside Banbridge.

“It’s great to look back and think that I’d been made redundant a few years earlier and now I’ve taken the opportunity of owning somewhere with both hands,” he explains.

• ‘It was a big step to take it over, but we’d come so far,’ says new owner of Co Down restaurant

It's a busy time in Northern Ireland's hospitality sector. There are currently nine new hotel projects underway bringing investment totalling ￡100m, according to a report from the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation .

And a further ￡300m is expected to be invested in the building, refurbishment or acquisition of hotels in the next five years.

Meanwhile, a business specialising in equestrian-themed holidays is just one of the north-west firms getting a boost from Stormont.

Companies including Crindle Bespoke and Barnn Skincare, which develops natural products using fresh goat milk, are benefiting from support through Innovate NI .

This Department for the Economy initiative, delivered by Invest Northern Ireland , has supported more than 1,700 local businesses to date.

Elsewhere, Seamus McCann fills us in on how he built his business Armatile .

The Co Armagh man started out in the working world by peeling apples for a penny a pound, but grew his own venture with the help and support of his family.

“I suppose I always had ambitions; the minute I achieve something I move on to the next thing. I’m a young 84 now so my next ambition is to retire at some stage and play better golf.”

• ‘My next ambition is to retire’: Meet the 84-year-old NI businessman who built a tile empire

And finally, it's your last chance to enter the 2024 Belfast Telegraph Business Awards in partnership with Ulster Bank. Entries are open across 17 categories until the deadline of noon on April 3.

ICYMI: Our most-read business stories in the last week

1. NI company could face ￡225k fine for hiring illegal workers
2. Co Down retailers to close store after nearly 30 years
3. Canadian chicken chain among new openings at Belfast’s Odyssey venue
4. Young Coleraine couple kickstart fundraising effort in bid to save zero-waste business
5. Founder of popular Belfast restaurant ‘stepping back’ as business struggles to recover post-Covid

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