O’Briens Sandwich Bars has launched its largest and most southerly outlet in Northern Ireland, as the team who are helping to drive expansion for the hand cut sandwich, gourmet coffee and juice bar franchise open their latest outlet at the Buttercrane Shopping Centre in Newry.

This is the 18th outlet in the Province for O’Briens where it now employs more than 150 staff, 20 of them at the Buttercrane outlet, which is being managed by Cormac McAteer, previously a duty manager at the city’s Canal Court.

While the focus for O’Briens has always been on healthier choices including its low fat ranges and handy calorie counters, Buttercrane will also feature a full juice bar offering real fruit smoothies, juices and detox drinks.

Behind the new venture are business partners Eric Annett and Michael McLoughlin. They joined O’Briens from Kerry Foods as franchisees just last summer and already operate four outlets including Portadown, Derry and Craigavon, one of the most successful shops in the north and a consistent top ten performer across the UK market for O’Briens. The Newry outlet is the first of several they have in the planning for the city and they are also set to further consolidate the brand through expansion up north around Derry next year.

Commenting on the Newry opening, Cormac McAteer, who also manages the Portadown and Craigavon outlets, said: “What better place to continue this O’Briens expansion than in this thriving border city? Eric and Michael know the area very well and were immediately attracted to this busy Buttercrane location. It is a fantastic retail outlet on two-levels providing seating for up to 100 customers, as well as the takeaway service.

“We are delighted to be bringing a new dimension in food and drink to the centre and are confident it will prove just as appealing here as it does elsewhere in the Province.”

The O’Briens team have strong local connections. Not only is Cormac local to Newry, Eric lives in Rathfriland and Northern Ireland development agent, Adrian Garvey, grew up in Newry and still lives nearby in the village of Forkhill.

“I’ve always had my sights set on Newry for the O’Briens brand and I knew that Buttercrane was the perfect spot for our first outlet here,” said Adrian. “I am delighted Michael and Eric are behind this new venture which gives us a comprehensive geographical spread from north to south of the Province. For one, we are now able to provide our catering offer for businesses and social occasions to every corner of Northern Ireland.”

O’Briens continues to shape its reputation on its quality, fresh, made to order hot or cold sandwiches - TrippledeckersTM, WrapposR, ToostiesR and shamrock-shaped focaccia-style ShambosTM. Also making up its product portfolio are gourmet coffees, speciality soups, organic deli dishes, tossed salads, freshly baked pastries, cakes and scones, and a wide range of soft drinks including the juice bar offer. It is introducing a more ethical approach to business by adding organic foods and Fairtrade tea.

Buttercrane Shopping Centre Manager Peter Murray said: “We are delighted to welcome O’Briens to Buttercrane. The O’Briens food offer and ambience, in particular the open second floor aspect, adds significantly to the food offering in the centre and is sure to attract a large percentage of the 100,000-plus shoppers who visit Buttercrane each week.”

The new O’Briens outlet opening hours at Buttercrane are Mondays and Tuesdays 8.30am to 6pm Wednesdays to Fridays 8.30am to 9pm, Saturdays 9am to 6pm and Sundays 1pm to 6pm. To contact the team at Newry or for catering orders call 028 302 69181 fax 69194.