Tony Enright has signed heads of terms with a fried chicken chain to occupy the former Dunnes Stores unit at 129/130 O'Connell Street in Limerick, part of a €3 million investment. The move would return the unit to use for the first time in almost 20 years, pending planning permission.

Enright told the Limerick Leader the tenant is one of "the large corporations" among fried chicken outlets, without naming it, adding that its parent company has operated another of its brands in Limerick city for the past decade.

The building is owned by Newreed Taverns Ltd, registered at Mount Kenneth House on Henry Street in Limerick, which is also seeking planning permission to convert the unit. Enright is a director of the company alongside James Lennon and Margaret Bartley.

Enright is an established figure in Limerick hospitality, having brought Jasmine Palace to the city in 1986, followed by Texas Steakout, and having been prominent in the regeneration of the Denmark Street and Market Quarter area before bringing the 101 nightclub to the city centre.

The structural driver is the reactivation of a long-vacant retail anchor through an established multi-brand corporate tenant, converting what Enright called "an eyesore" into an occupied unit expected to anchor footfall recovery on O'Connell Street.

"It is a fantastic location. Seeing it closed for so many years, mothballed and in really poor condition we felt was madness. That this shop is empty, it is an eyesore on the street. This is a good business decision," Enright said.

"It will give a great buzz and a great sense of confidence. That a big international chain is happy to invest in Limerick," he added, noting no observations have been lodged against the planning application.

Agents for the developers told the council that up to 40 permanent full and part-time jobs could be created if the restaurant secures permission, with further employment expected during the fit-out and construction phase.

The unit has remained largely unused since 2008, when Dunnes Stores consolidated its city centre presence into a single Harvey's Quay store, while its former Sarsfield Street unit was later taken over by the University of Limerick.

For the sector, the deal shows how a single anchor letting can unlock reuse of a long-vacant unit that had sat outside the city's active fit-out pipeline for close to two decades.

Source: Limerick Leader / Limerick City and County Council