Dozens of new jobs as doors set to reopen at the Viaduct

The former Viaduct Inn, under the shadow of an iconic Cork landmark, is set to reopen next month as a brand new dining destination, The Viaduct Café, Market & Restaurant.

The long closed Viaduct Inn was recently purchased by Cliste Hospitality, who are reopening the well-known pub and restaurant on the Old Bandon Road on September 12, creating 40 new jobs in the area.

Located just outside Bishopstown on the N71 main road to West Cork, The Viaduct is a substantial premises with views of the famous landmark after which it is named — the Chetwynd Viaduct, the Victorian railway viaduct that carried trains on its single line from Cork to West Cork until 1961.

The Viaduct Café, Market & Restaurant will be led for Cliste Hospitality by husband-and-wife team Keith Colgan and Gillian Colgan, and they are currently recruiting for Chefs, Baristas, Supervisors and Serving team to run the new café market and restaurant.

Executive Chef Keith Colgan is Dublin-born, while his wife and General Manager Gillian is from Dungarvan. The pair met in culinary college in Killarney in 1995 and have worked together in a variety of different companies over the years.

“We are looking forward to welcoming our first guests through the doors of the new look Viaduct,” says Paul Fitzgerald, CEO of Cliste Hospitality.

He said that Cliste Hospitality has invested a “considerable sum” in the complete redesign and refurbishment of the “impressive property in an unbeatable location, a portal at the edge of Cork city along the main route to West Cork”.

The reopened dining destination will include a 30-seat café serving an all-day menu along with brunch specials, and a 120-seat restaurant serving lunchtime roasts and an evening à la carte menu. 

There is also private dining space for 60, and a spacious outdoor BBQ and pergola area for a further 50 people, as well as a retail food and drink hall full of artisan products from East to West Cork. 

Mr Fitzgerald said that there is an "emphasis on great local and Irish produce and menus changing seasonally" that will become a "must-visit both for the local Bishopstown and wider Cork population and also for commuters and visitors to West Cork". 

The Viaduct Café will open daily from 7am to 5pm, with the retail Viaduct Market open from 7am to 7pm and the Viaduct Restaurant from 5pm with last orders at 9pm.