Local Business Spotlight: Yummy Cafe

Yummy Cafe is situated on Dominic St in the heart of Tralee. Winner of the 2018 Best Family Restaurant Award from TodayFM, Yummy’s is a warm and welcoming spot for families, foodies and coffee-lovers alike. This week, we caught up with Emer Tobin for our Local Business Spotlight.

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the history of Yummy Cafe?

We opened the cafe in June of 2013 having spotted a gap in the market. While Tralee had an abundance of fabulous cafes & restaurants, we, having a young family ourselves noticed that nowhere really catered for families. I mean yes of course there were a few that provided kids menus but that was pretty much as far as it went, so for the most part it meant heading out for lunch with everything bar the kitchen sink packed up just to keep the kids entertained long enough so that you could enjoy your lunch in peace.

It wasn’t just about providing a family-friendly space however, we wanted to ensure that the quality of food & customer service was equally as high a standard so that Yummy would appeal to everyone, young & old, and not just those with young families.

Since opening, the cafe has gone from strength to strength and is busier than we could ever have imagined. We are very proud of it & incredibly grateful to our loyal & dedicated team not to mention our wonderful, supportive customers.

2. Yummy’s prides itself on being a family-oriented cafe. What kind of special features do you offer to families and kids?

We obviously have a very child friendly menu, both breakfast & lunch but more importantly, we have a dedicated kids play area in the corner of our cafe which includes a safety gate so that parents can enjoy their meal knowing that their child is playing safely. 

We also have activity sheets & pencils for those that prefer to stay at their tables & I suppose the biggest hit of all is our baby changing units, in BOTH the ladies & gents toilets....very important that the Dad’s don’t get away with not changing the nappies 😜 On top of all that, we have ample space for buggy parking & have quite a number of larger tables to accommodate high chairs & occasions when more than one family want to dine together.

3. How important is it to source sustainable products and ‘upcycle’ at both your cafe and in-house market?

Upcycling is a huge part of our cafe, in fact, 90% of our cafe is probably upcycled. In the beginning, it had more to do with cost as we had a very small budget when setting up the cafe. The tables & main counter area were all made from used scaffolding planks. The chairs were purchased from a local men’s shed & the doors, dressers & other Knick knacks all from various reclamation yards, some bits even coming from our parents' attics.

Over the years & more so in the last 12 months, due to covid, we have had to replace some of our tables with newer more wipeable surfaces but we still have a deep love for re-using/recycling & will continue to do so where possible.

We have also replaced all our coffee cups, straws & takeaway packaging with 100% biodegradable products and hope to expand this even further throughout the cafe in the near future.

4. In your opinion, what is the key to building a successful local business?

Customer Service!! Yes of course the product has to be good too but in my opinion customer service is key. You need to build a relationship with your customers, get to really know them & them you to be honest!! You really need to go above & beyond especially in the initial years because that’s what people will remember & that’s what will keep them coming back. 

It is so important to us that Yummy Cafe feels like a home away from home. We are very lucky to have a wonderful team at Yummy, most of whom are with us for a number of years & some from the very beginning. Because of this, we are very much like a family so it has offered us & our customers alike, the opportunity to really get to know each other and provide the best personal experience each time they visit.

5. How has Covid-19 affected your business overall?

Well obviously like most other businesses we’ve been closed more than we’ve been open over the last 12 months which in itself, for all the obvious reasons has been very tough.

Re-opening after the first lockdown was quite honestly terrifying. Even though all our staff had undergone rigorous Covid training & we had every measure possible put in place in the cafe, there was still a very real fear & anxiety, the ‘what if’ we do something wrong etc. 

Thankfully everything ran smoothly & despite having a substantial reduction in seating capacity we still had an incredibly busy summer & 3 weeks of Christmas. It was both physically & mentally draining trying to ensure that all our customers & staff alike were kept safe at all times and most definitely one of the toughest years in business I’ve ever put down but we got through it & we now look forward to better times ahead.

6. In better times, what’s your favourite Tralee spot to have a bite, grab a pint, or just sit and watch the world go by?

God I can hardly remember it’s been that long!

Truthfully, we never really had much of a social life to begin with but we did enjoy going out for Sunday lunch with the kids. More often than not it was either The Rose Hotel or Ballygarry House Hotel. I just adore both places, food is always spot on but more importantly, both hotels have the most fantastic staff & always make us feel so welcome. 

And on the rare occasion that we did get a night out on our own, we would definitely head to Seán Ógs for the great music, the mighty craic & the fabulous staff, the lads always treat you like a regular, even if it is only twice a year that they see you.

7. What are you most looking forward to doing after the pandemic?

I am probably most looking forward to seeing my only sibling who lives in Cork, I haven’t seen him since Christmas so it will be great to see him again.

I’m also really looking forward to seeing our regular customers, many of whom I have genuinely missed an awful lot as I would have seen them almost every day prior to this & definitely miss our little chats. 

After that then, a night away.....I cannot wait & I don’t really care where it is either, just a night away from the house, nice meal & bottle of wine.....bliss!

8. What does it mean to be from Tralee?

Well firstly I’m not from Tralee, I’m a Cork girl, Bantry to be exact & proud of it too although my husband would argue that point, given that I’ve been living in Tralee longer. He also claims he rescued me from Cork!

In saying all that, I do love Tralee. I moved here to attend college back in 1996 & I’ve pretty much been here since. Other than Cork obviously, I really couldn’t see myself living anywhere else. We really do have absolutely everything on our doorstep here so I consider myself a very lucky lady indeed.