THE founder of Slim's Healthy Kitchen is behind a new Belfast coffee shop, due to open later this month.
It can be revealed that Gary McIldowney has joined forces with Slim's chef Ryan Jenkins to launch brunch and coffee destination, Output on the Lisburn Road.
The new 1,150 sq ft, 40-seater food outlet replaces local coffee chain Bob & Berts, which closed its doors on the Lisburn Road last month.
The £100,000 investment is set to create 18 jobs, 12 of which will be full-time and the new café will open at the end of June.
In addition to a varied food menu, the quirky new venue will feature bare concrete, greenery and neon signage as part of its interior design, as well as DJ decks to be used for a 'disco brunch'.
Speaking to The Irish News, Mr McIldowney explained a shared passion for good food has inspired the new collaboration.
"Ryan started his cooking career and has been part of the team at Slim’s for six years now, recently he has been organising pop-up dining nights across Belfast building his own fan base for his culinary talents that he couldn’t express as part of the Slim’s brand with it being health focused," he said.
"We were both keen to channel his passion for creating really beautiful food that not only looks good but tastes good too into something permanent."
"From the outset we wanted to create a relaxed social space where we’d like to hangout to catch-up with friends, enjoy really good coffee that rotates regularly and a menu of comfort food but that also excites and surprises customers," Mr McIldowney continued.
Mr Jenkins explained the new café will offer customers much more than just the traditional breakfast fare.
"We’ll be serving from 8am six days a week with a varied menu from eggs galore, a brunch burger with bacon jam, short rib hash and a beef dripping sandwich of cured meats which are cured in-house," he said.
"On the sweeter side we have recruited a pastry chef and we’ll have freshly baked pastries and croissants, candy floss pancakes and cornflake ice-cream. We have a lot more offerings than you would see in a traditional breakfast menu, but also a lot more flexibility too for mixing and matching your dishes and building your own combinations for the everyday customer that wants to enjoy something lighter with a cup of really good coffee."
Slim's Healthy Kitchen operates two outlets in Belfast on the Lisburn and Belmont Roads, as well as one in Magherafelt.
