The Martin Barry Group has taken a lease at St. Andrew's Church on Dublin's Suffolk Street and has stated that the church will be open as a food hall and multipurpose hospitality experience by the first half of 2025.
The group operates four European food halls under the name Manifesto Market, including "Europe's largest food hall," which it opened in Berlin in January this year.
The Martin Barry Group, based in Prague, says there will be space for 12 food vendors at the proposed Dublin site, adding that the project will create 250 jobs in hospitality and management.
The food hall will cater to a mix of "small and medium independent chefs, restaurateurs and operators," the group told the Irish Times. It will also strike a balance between first-time businesses and well-established chefs.
The group is now seeking expressions of interest from chefs and restauranteurs about taking a space in the new food hall. The suitability of all applicants will be assessed.
"The selection of restaurant partners is realised through a meticulous curation process, to achieve the desired quality, authenticity and maximise the diversity of types of cuisines available in one spot," the group told the Irish Times.
Martin Barry, who was born in New York to Irish parents, co-founded the Manifesto Market brand, which opened its first market in Prague, Czechia, in 2018.
Barry told the Irish Times that he is "excited" to return the historic St. Andrew's Church to Dubliners.
The Presbyterian church dates back to the 1860s and has been used as a Fáilte Ireland tourist information center since 2012.
The Michael JF Wright Hospitality Group previously announced a plan to open a food hall in the church in 2018, but the plan did not go through.
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