Bonniconlon celebrate grand opening of new Gala store

There was great excitement for the community of Bonniconlon, as the new Gala store in the village had its grand opening.

The grand opening of the store showed what is offered to Bonniconlon, as it now includes a kiosk for the Post Office and a café. Not only can people purchase the essentials as in their local shop, but is now a place for people to come together.

From dropping off and collecting essential items at the Post Office, the new café offers a wide range of food offerings. There is also a selection of coffees available, as well as a sit-down area to rest and relax while you enjoy your beverages.

If you are looking for something more substantial to eat, the Deli provides a wide range of breakfast and lunch options. This is along with some great offers across the store for all your essential needs.

The work carried out on the shop has given the community a needed place to come together and socialise. From those who want a coffee before they head to work or on their lunch break, to parents who want to take a breath after the rush of getting their kids to school, the new store has something to offer to everyone in the community.

The store opens from 7.30 to 9pm Monday to Sunday, while the café is currently opening from 8am to 4pm, with plans to expand the opening hours in the future.

Speaking to the Western People on the day of the opening last Friday, owners of the Gala shop, Liju Varughese & Grace O'Malley, thanked the local community for the support, and explained how the idea to expand the shop was created.

“In this shop, you have the community. When we do the revamp, one of the main reasons was because the community needed a café, it was lacking in this area. All of them voted for a café here, because you had nowhere to sit and nowhere to meet people.

“At the time, we had an older post office there. We turned it into a small, nice café. It has breakfast, lunch, and also all the dessert and cakes, along with a wide coffee offering to serve the community. It is also wonderful to keep the Post Office. We have the first An Post express checkout in the country.

“It is a shop that will be able to carry out all the local business. We have the Deli counter, and we bake every single day from scratch. It is for the necessities; we did the renovations for the community so it can be served better.

“We have the first express (Post Office) checkout in the country. A lot of support came from the politicians, we met a couple of times. It is not easy to run, the local community rallied together, they put up a signboard, they put up the signs for support for the local Post Office and the shop.

Liju said this will not only keep people in the community who want to socialise, but will also help bring people to Bonniconlon.

“It is all about the community. In Bonniconlon, there is no place to sit. The local people has to have somewhere to chat. If you have elderly people who have got their pensions, there was no place to sit down for their coffee in the town.

“It is handy to have here a reason to come to Bonniconlon. With the café, people are coming from Ballina for breakfast, so it is nice to see people coming here to the local community. I witness some of the people from Ballina bring their parents here for the coffee, so it is ideal for the community to meet together. It is wonderful to have that opportunity, especially a café and a Post Office.

“In most rural places, Post Offices are closing down. This opportunity will serve the community better long-term. Overall, it is our point of view that the support is there. From the business point of view, it is all positive there.

“It has been exciting. We have spent €250,000 to revamp the shop. It is not a lot of money, but it is still a considerable amount of money to put into a small rural shop to get it to the highest standard and everything needed for the community. That is the same community that has supported us to keep the business going. I am happy with the support coming and to see all the customers here.”