One of Belfast’s most popular home-grown café businesses has relocated to a new premises on Donegall Street.
Neighbourhood Café has opened the latest incarnation of its hospitality hub in the recently revamped Church of Ireland House, next to St Anne’s Cathedral.
Oisin McEvoy and Ryan Crown were forced to abandon their original Donegall Street café after a fire devastated Cathedral Buildings in October 2022.
They relocated to the former Hadskis restaurant in nearby Commercial Court, which closed in mid-2022.
Now the hospitality duo have returned to Donegell Street, in what Oisin McEvoy has labelled their new “forever home”.
“The opening of our new premises on Donegall Street is a major milestone in the story of Neighbourhood,” he said.
“A lot of hard work has been put in by a lot of people to ensure that our forever home in Belfast perfectly encapsulates the Neighbourhood vibe, and I think we’ve done just that.”
The building, also known as Sessia House, was vacated by the Church of Ireland after 27 years in August 2023, with the Connor and Down and Dromore dioceses relocating to Old Channel Road.
Ryan Crown’s Cathedral Quarter agency Crown Creative has redesigned the new-look space.
“We’ve poured our hearts into creating this space,” he said.
“We’re blessed that Neighbourhood Café has such a brilliant community spirit and are so excited to welcome back our friends and family, and hopefully to see a few new faces too.”
With the Commercial Court venue now vacant, it’s understood chef Niall McKenna is planning for a new hospitality venture in his former Hadskis site.