Village Greengrocer & Food Hall (The)

Greengrocer and Food Shop

Castlemartyr Village in Co Cork has a gem of a shop in the form of this local greengrocer’s. The word greengrocer conjures up an image of yesteryear – and its wonderful to find a place that concentrates on the old fashioned way of sourcing and supplying vegetables to its customers.  These days though, the shop provides so much more.

Owned by Sean and Dorothy Walsh, The Village Greengrocer caters for those who want good value best quality local vegetables and a range of superb quality artisan specialities, locally produced foods and fine wines. The business started fifteen years ago, when Sean, originally, a farmer and grower himself, saw a small premises on the main street was available to rent, and got the notion of starting a vegetable shop. Dorothy thought he’d gone mad - wondering if a shop, which concentrated solely on supplying vegetables to what, was then a reasonably small community could ever survive. She should have had more faith. From day one, the shop had a constant trail of customers daily. Dorothy served in the shop whilst rearing the family and Sean collected his Veg from local farmers. As demand grew, so did the need for a bigger shop. When a corner premises over the road came up for sale a number of years ago, The Walsh’s moved lock stock and barrel - and have never looked back. These days, as well as supplying vegetables direct to customers, they also deliver to a number of the area’s prestigious restaurants, such as fellow Good Food Ireland memeber Whitehorses Restaurant in Ardmore, Co Waterford.  

The shop is a cornucopia of wonderful ingredients and fresher than fresh vegetables. Front of house is dedicated to the vegetable and fruit section, with suppliers named on handwritten labels. Find potatoes, cabbages and other veggies from John Kennefic of Ballycotton, carrots and parsnips from Barrons in Ardmore, Pearl Mushrooms from Clonmel, cooking apples from Bridevalley, Tallow, and seasonal berries from Glenfruits in Dungarvan, to name a few. To the rear, an artisan food section includes Dorothy’s home made jams and chutneys from seasonal fruits and vegetables, a table groaning with sweet and savoury home baking and breads, all made fresh on the premises every day, oils, vinegars, dressings, a chill cabinet with produce from Ballycotton Seafood, cheese from Knockmore, Mapple Cottage goat’s cheese from Ballymacoda, and a range of bacon, sausages and hams from Cormac O’Connor of Mayfield, Cork city. A well chosen but small range of old and new world wines can also be found.   

Alongside all this, a small deli counter is laden with home cooked meats like turkey, ham and spiced beef, and a selection of fresh salads all made in house daily. You can order a sandwich on any kind of house bread, to take away or enjoy with a tea or coffee in the cosy upper seating area, which looks out onto the main street. In summer, tables and chairs are located outdoors at the side of the shop, which has a babbling river running by. It’s all very civilised! Window boxes of flowers adorn the shop front and a big a board announces what’s new and in season as it comes in. This place is a find upon finds, and definitely not to be missed. Coming soon, the upstairs seating area will be converted to a fully-fledged café serving more substantial meals and light lunches from home made and home cooked produce.

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Contact Details

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Castlemartyr
Co Cork
+353 (0) 21 4667655
Email: thevillagegreengrocer@eircom.net

 

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