Scanlons in Kinnegad officially reopened on Friday, 26 July to mark its comeback from a kitchen fire in early June.
Staff, locals and public figures came together on Thursday, 25 July to celebrate the restaurant’s return to business. Minister Peter Burke, Cllr Denis Leonard and Fr Tom Gilroy were all in attendance on a special night for the Kinnegad community. Owner Trevor Byrne and his wife Naomi were delighted to reopen the doors.
“All the staff are happy. There’s a sense of pride in everybody. You can see the spirits lifted,” he told Topic.
The bar and restaurant closed after a kitchen fire on the morning of Sunday, 2 June. Emergency services from Mullingar and Meath managed to stop the fire from spreading. It took three hours to dampen down the embers, check for hot spots and assess potential re-i ignition points. An investigation found the fire was caused by a malfunctioning flat plate. Nobody was injured in the fire but it was devastating news for Trevor and his staff.
“The first two weeks was hell. Trying to get your head around things. I’ve never dealt with an insurance company before so it was all new,” said Trevor, who was in Ballivor, County Meath when the fire began.
“It probably took me seven minutes to get from Ballivor to Kinnegad and it was the longest seven minutes of my life. I’m lucky my wife came with me. I know I would have went straight in to stop it [spreading] more. She was there to talk sense into me.”
Support
Trevor was most concerned about his staff whose jobs hung in the balance. Some helped him with renovations while many worked in Byrne’s Bar in Ballivor, which he also owns. He said this kept the staff together and “kept them in employment”. This was particularly important to Trevor who was determined to help them.
“It’s not just our workplace, a lot of them are there for years. It was our second home, our second family. They look after each other very well. They’re a good group of staff, they bond together very well,” he said.
The devastation of the fire, logistical headaches and loss of business called for steely resilience from Trevor and Co. He said his family, friends and Kinnegad locals gave him immense support. His youngest daughter Eilbhe-Grace helped motivate Trevor with a heartfelt gesture. On Father’s Day, she left a card on his pillow which read:
“Happy Father’s Day dad, I promise I’ll help you rebuild Scanlons.”
“That gave me a fire to put it right, prove it to the kids and everyone else that there’s nothing that can’t be fixed,” said Trevor.
From the ashes
The Kinnegad community rallied around Scanlons and remained loyal as the doors were shut. Many travelled to Byrne’s Bar in Ballivor to support the Scanlons staff there. As Trevor navigated the return to business, he got immense support from the local community.
“Most of the tradespeople were friends of mine or people we used anyway. They all bent over backwards to get us back up and running. Any phone call I made, I never got ‘no’,” he said.
Trevor and Naomi worked fast to bounce back from the blaze. Naomi told him, “there’s no one better to put this back together than you.” He put in the hard yards along with his staff to open the doors.
“It was a case of, ‘gather yourself together and let’s put this back together’. We were working day and night. I was going in most mornings at 7.30am not leaving until 1.00am, 1.30am at night,” said Trevor.
Like a phoenix from the ashes, Trevor said he wanted Scanlons to emerge from the crisis better than ever. Two weeks after the fire, he and Naomi went into the building and Trevor identified areas they could improve.
“I said there’s no point putting what was here back together. We have to put our own stamp and make this better,” he said.
With pen and paper in hand, Trevor threw a critical eye over the entire building. He decided to modernise the function room and extended the kitchen area. Before the fire, Scanlons was growing but couldn’t facilitate the volumes of customers on Sundays due to the size of the kitchen. Now, they will be able to open the beer garden and welcome in more people than ever before
“It’s fabulous, it’s gorgeous,” said Trevor.
“We’re back up and running and back in business which is the most important thing for us.”
Thursday evening was an emotional occasion for the Byrne family. It was the result of almost two months’ hard work, early mornings and late nights. Naomi paid tribute to Trevor for his resilience in reopening Scanlons to the people of Kinnegad.
“The children and I are so proud of the hard work and dedication Trevor has poured into getting the place back up and running. It’s a real testament to the business man he is,” she told Topic.
“We never doubted his ability to get the show on the road again. His dedication and hard work sets a fantastic example to our four children. We are beyond excited to start this new and improved chapter in Kinnegad.”
“We were overwhelmed with the support from family, friends, and businesses in Ballivor, Kinnegad, and of course, from all our staff in The Lansdowne in Spain. Just goes to show how far and wide his business name has travelled, and how respected and supported he is. We can’t wait to cheer him on.”
