A healthy food and juice chain from Northern Ireland plans to open three stores in Dublin.
Juice Jar, founded by Sam Shephard in 2019, is opening its first shop in the city on Dawson Street in an outlet next to Marco Pierre White Steakhouse and Grill later this month.
The brand has six other stores in Belfast and Bristol and will serve sandwiches, fresh juices, smoothies and acai bowls.
Mr Shephard said Juice Jar had identified a second unit in Dublin “within a stone’s throw” of its Dawson Street outlet.
He is also looking at a third site in the Blackrock suburbs and hopes to have all three open by the end of the year.
“In terms of ‘why Ireland?’ Well, primarily, it’s from a business perspective. The fundamentals stack up hugely,” he said.
“I could rhyme off a million reasons. You have Vat sitting at 9% in July 2025. Up north, it’s 20% across the board. Corporation tax is 12.5% down here while it’s 25% up there.
“The rates down here are next to nothing compared to up north, where they’re about 40% of your rent.
“Down here, it works out at about 10% of rent.
“There are a lot of plusses. For me, it is just the straight economics of it.”
Mr Shephard said the heart of Dublin sees six times the footfall of Belfast.
He added that the opportunity on Dawson Street was significant, predicting it could potentially generate three times the sales of one store in Belfast.
The Juice Jar shop on Dawson Street is a 2,300sqft unit undergoing a €500,000 (£413,000) fit-out. It will create 15 new jobs, as well as three managers who are moving down from Northern Ireland.
“In terms of optimism, I don’t think you can get a better street for hospitality in Dublin,” he said.