*Mary and Roisín Wynne.
ROUTE 85 has quickly become a popular coffee stop for motorists travelling between Ennis and North Clare. For some, a Sun day drive to Lahinch wouldn’t be complete without the novel stop for baked goods and a hot drink while for others, a coffee from Route 85 has become an essential part of their daily work commute.
What appears as a seamless operation to the customer is the result of dedication and hard work from the Wynne family from Ruan. “What people don’t see is that we spend our nights watching TV and folding green napkins,” admits Mary, the matriarch of this family-run business. A snapshot of the challenges facing business owners is perhaps summed up best by Mary, recalling a day when an insulation problem brought her to tears. “One of the moments that will never leave me is when the decision was made to take apart the entire container to re-insulate it as there were issues with the insulation by the supplier. In 24 hours, the electrics, security system, sinks, pipes, wall panels, floor panels, ceiling panels, fridges, ovens, coffee machine, cone machine all had to be taken outside and left there overnight. I cried real tears that day and I really thought it was not going to work out.
“I really didn’t believe it would be possible to take it all apart and put it back together again on time. I want to commend all of the men who came within minutes of the call to them to do their part. It was surreal and I cannot thank all of our friends and family who worked so hard that day.”
Route 85 was set up and self-fund ed by Mary and her husband Ted, with “fantastic” help from the Local Enterprise Office, Clare. Mary’s two daughters Gráinne and Aedín attend college and work at the Drive Thru at the weekends whilst her son Conor manages the Accounts/HR work and her husband Ted is always available to do the maintenance work. Her sister Siobhan, meanwhile, works in the Route 85 bakery.
Róisín has recently graduated with a Master’s in Marketing Management and always had a desire to open her own business. Mum Mary admits, “We love to bake and we love to meet people.” With these two fundamental strengths, Mary took a career break from a very successful career in the HSE and joined Róisín in setting up Route 85.
Mary says anyone that knows her will know of her love for home baked food and her obsession with scones. Route 85 sets itself apart from its competitors as its cakes, treats and savoury products are all freshly made daily in the on-site bakery using the best ingredients from local suppliers. Mary notes that her mother’s love of baking has been passed down to both her and her sister Siobhán, who previously owned Restaurant LeCathelinais in Corofin with her husband Yanne.
Route 85 use the finest coffee supplied by the renowned Old Barracks Roasters while they consistently strive for excellence with the best equipment on the market, which (as it turns out) comes with its own challenges. “Today, coffee machines are elite and it is not easy to repair or replace parts when anything goes wrong, most of the specialist engineers are based in Dub lin. To date I have been in Dublin on three emergency occasions with the coffee machine in the boot of my car!”
She continues, “Alan and the staff at Old Barracks Roasters have been very supportive in every possible way since we opened and have managed to get us through some very tough problems.”
Recounting the early months of 2022 when setting up Route 85, Mary admits, “sometimes I laugh to myself at the context of some of the conversations I had to endure during the building stages of Route 85. Most of these conversations were with men and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their patience and understanding. Discussions about 3phase electricity and the grade of concrete in kerbs are some that come to mind. Thankfully my husband Ted, was always only a call away for help.”
Mary and Róisín have successfully overcome these challenges and today run a bustling trade. Strong customer service has been central to their success. “We pride ourselves in being that genuine friendly face you meet for your coffee. We have built up many, many friends and enjoy the daily chats every day, from the pregnant woman who now has her new baby, from the person who is travelling miles for cancer treatment and going on that daily journey with them or meeting the parent who is on their way to visit a sick child in hospital. Whilst we only meet people for a few minutes each day, you would be very sur prised how much you get to know about people and the relationship you develop with them.”
Mary adds, “We have lots of little friends, who all want to come work at Route 85 when they are ‘big’. Having the right staff work with us is critical to our business professionally and personally and thankfully it has all been very positive to date. Our staff are very highly trained Baristas whilst also being friendly and polite, this is of utmost importance to us and this is evident by the feedback reviews on Google.
