A wonderful new Café opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, 20th June in the stunning setting of the North Mayo Heritage Centre, located on the Enniscoe Country Estate near Crossmolina.
The Orchard Café
The Orchard Café under the helm of Orlagh McKnight and her team welcomed its first customers through the door at 10am with a welcoming smile and a friendly chat for all.
Orlagh has a strong belief in using fresh, local produce where possible, so all of the delicious cakes and confectionary items are baked in house, she is working alongside the certified organic garden at the North Mayo Heritage Centre so as to ensure that the fruit, salad and vegetable selections are fresh and varied. As well as this, local business, Tower Valley Meats are the designated butcher.
First customers at the official opening of The Orchard Café
Pic: Mayo North Tourism
Pic: Mayo North Tourism
The first customers at The Orchard Café on its opening morning were father and daughter Patrick Keavney and Mary Keavney Flanagan from Turlough in Castlebar. Both Patrick and Mary were very complimentary of the Café, its food and the beautiful location. Local ladies, Nuala Corcoran and Nuala Matthews from Crossmolina both agreed that is was “wonderful to have a new café in the locality again and they looked forward to returning again soon”.
The North Mayo Heritage Centre was most recently famed for the visit of US President Joe Biden in April. This visit also highlighted the wonderful primary purpose of the North Mayo Heritage Centre which is genealogical research for the North Mayo diaspora. Visitors can however can still come here and enjoy the wonderful loop walks with views of Nephin and Lough Conn or to visit the stunning ornamental garden and certified organic gardens.
Manager of Mayo North Tourism, Mairéad Melody-Carr said: “the opening of the Orchard Café is a fantastic addition to the North Mayo Heritage Centre which is located in such a beautiful and historic setting”. A visit to the North Mayo Heritage Centre is always on of our list of highly recommended visitor attractions in North Mayo, and a café such as the Orchard Café fits in perfectly to enhance the visitor experience whilst here. She added that “It was also heart-warming to see so many locals and tourists alike just popping in to say hello to Orlagh and wish the team good luck. The opening of a new business in North Mayo is always a good day in my mind, particularly in the tourism and hospitality sector. On behalf of Mayo North Tourism I wish Orlagh and her team all the best with this exciting new venture.”
The Orchard Café is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10am – 4pm and serves a selection of food to including breakfast, lunch, delicious home-baked goods as well as a selection of teas and coffees.
For further details about the café and its offering please visit The Orchard Cafe Facebook page.
