A Nenagh café with a difference

UP EATS is a new Nenagh café with a difference.

Opened last July by young local entrepreneurs Sean Hayes and Matthew Shinners, this establishment is founded on the principle of healthy eating. You can still enjoy the traditional staples like a full Irish breakfast or hearty sandwich, but the Up Eats approach to preparing food is quite different.

For example, rather than using deep fat frying oil, Up Eats cook with one-calorie spray. Everything on the menu is calorie-counted and macro-counted, so you know exactly how many fats, carbs and proteins you are consuming.

This is a novel approach to cuisine that has become very big in the United States and Australia, and is now starting to take off in Ireland.

As Matthew and Sean point out, people in general are becoming much more conscious about healthy eating. People are more educated now and considerate of healthy eating options, and those in the catering industry have had to broaden their palate in terms of meeting new dietary requirements, and of course those of people with conditions such as diabetes and high cholesterol.

NEW BUSINESS VENTURE

Sean and Matthew are both active sportsmen – Sean come from Puckane and hurls with Kiladangan while Matthew of Portroe plays for Nenagh AFC’s first team – and they are well-aware of the benefits of proper nutrition. They were doing a business and computing course at LIT while making pre-prepared meals at home and delivering them to people’s doors.

With ambition to explore the market niche they have identified, the lads decided to upscale and went in search of a premises with a dedicated kitchen. When Deborah’s former café on Silver St became available, the lads were delighted to avail of its town centre location to set up.

And Up Eats has been growing from strength to strength ever since. Customers have been very pleasantly surprised with the range of eats available, from breakfast and lunch options to healthy snacks on the go. Customers especially like the tasteful décor and relaxed vibe of the café with its vibrant, homely colours.

OUTSIDE CATERING

Up Eats has provided team catering for the Kiladangan hurlers, dropping pre-packed meals out to the hurling field to help the players recover after training.

They will also be at the Train Throwdown event in Nenagh this Saturday, providing healthy and tasty eating options to both competitors and spectators at the former aluminium factory. The menu will include Up Eats’ vitamin-packed Acai Sorbet, Protein Shakes and Overnight Oats, a porridge and yoghurt combination that makes for an ideal healthy snack.

Up Eats can provide this service at events all around the Nenagh area. Just get in touch with the lads to find out more.

All the meat used in Up Eats meals is provided by Kenyon St butcher Denis Quirke while the fruit and veg comes from Eoin Hogan Wholesale on the Old Birr Road. There are presently six people working in the café between kitchen and front-of-house staff.

Encouraged by their success to date, Matthew and Sean have big plans for the future and hope to one day make Up Eats a nationwide food delivery service. They are very thankful for the support they’ve received so far from the local business community, and would like to thank everyone who has been part of their journey so far.

Find out more about this exciting new Nenagh café on Facebook and Instagram. You can also email upeats1@gmail.com.