RESTAURATEURS Demelza and Darryl Flynn have invested £100,000 into a new 100-seater café within EZ Living Interiors in Holywood Exchange, creating 15 jobs, and say they have plans to open a further branch within weeks.
They have run hugely popular 81 Restaurant in Holywood since 2013, alongside an outdoor catering and drinks company Liquid Crew.
The new Living Room café originally opened in December but had just four days of trading before the third lockdown kicked in.
It is now back in business and has enjoyed a bumper few weeks of opening trade, with plans afoot to launch a second Living Room Café in the Boucher Road branch of EZ Living.
Demelza Kelly Flynn said: “The past 12 months have been an absolute rollercoaster for us as small business owners.
“The enforced closure had huge effects not only on our business, but the staff, us as a family and our future.
“In the downtime we looked at our current offering at 81 and know we have a fantastic product and amazing team.
“We wanted to grow and replicate that alongside a strong brand and come back with a new, complimentary fresh offering.
“When the opportunity arose to open a café in one of our favourite stores, EZ Living, was too good an opportunity to dismiss.”
“We have now been open a few weeks, and the response has been absolutely phenomenal.
“We have introduced a new menu which includes snacks, main meals and amazing coffee. We are fully inclusive for all, including vegan, vegetarian, gluten free and children, and we are building on that and evolving our offering every single day.”
It is housed within the family-run EZ Living Interiors, which operates15 stores across Ireland, one in Belfast and one in Boucher Road.
Demelza added: “The response has been so encouraging that we will soon be opening within the recently extended Boucher Road store which has expanded to become the largest interior store within Ireland.”
