Independent Cafe Owners Association
The ICOA
The Independent Café Owners Association [ICOA] will be the representative group for independently owned cafés in Ireland.
Membership of the association is free. All we look for in return is for your feedback on how you are making your business successful so we can help others do the same. In addition if you feel there are particular items that the ICOA could deal with that will benefit all members, please pop us an email and we will work towards making the industry better.
The core business of the Association is to support independent café owners. For new entrants to the cafe market we will provide advice, guidance and start-up expertise through our panel of industry experts. For existing cafe owners we will provide business support at various levels and act on their behalf to lobby Government Departments, State Agencies and all organisations that shape and affect the café industry at a national level.
The majority of this information will be available online, which you as a registered member can access free of charge once you sign up to the association.
In addition we aim to provide a wealth of benefits to new and existing cafe operators, on topics such as
- Budgeting and planning advice (wage, GP, cost percentages : industry averages)
- Marketing, positioning and branding
- Strategic planning and business development
- Training programmes for owners, managers/supervisors and operatives
- Workshops for business development
- Trending information and resource guides
- Online HR advice and staffing policies
The ICOA will be a one stop shop for café owners on all aspects of the café industry.
Website coming soon
For further information contact Alan Andrews, +353 87 294 3839
Information, enquiries and to sign up – contact: alan@icoa.ie
Incubation Period
We are hoping to have this association up and running and to be sharing information with you by March of 2101.
As part of my day to day dealings with my own Coffee Culture clients, the feedback from independent cafe owners suggests that there is need for an association. This ICOA has been set up to represent these people, to make the cafe industry better and stronger on a national level.
In addition, to the day to day guidance, we are here to stand toe to toe with goverment agencies and to fight the cafe owners corner.
Membership of the association is FREE. And it will only work if members contribute. Tell me what it is you need help with and we will do what we can in return. Tell us what is working for you and share tips of the trade. We are looking to hear from all parties that wish to be involvedin the association, that may wish to join or be part of its development to contact me alan@icoa.ie. If you would like to be part of this movement and have your voice heard, send me an email. Remember the more members, the stronger the voice, the better we get.
Independent Cafe Owners Association – Members
Trish O’Brien : Cibo Cafe, Ennis, Co Clare
Janet Hawkins : Food for Thought at the Blessigton Bookstore, Wicklow
Lisa Kirwan : Delish Cafe’s, Limerick
Claire Staunton : The Good Room, Adare, Limerick
Orla Fox : Providence Market Cafe’s, Galway
Mark Howell : MYO in the IFSC, Dublin
Ruth Clendennon : Milk & Honey, Aungier St., Dublin
Look forward to hearing from you.
Alan