Junction 14 Mayfield – The Gold Standard of Irish Forecourts

IF&CR talks to John Meade, Junction 14’s Site Operations Manager on his first year at the helm of one of Ireland’s leading landmark forecourts.

Congratulations on your appointment last year as Site Operations Manager at Junction 14 Mayfield, Monasterevin, County Kildare, Ireland. One year into the role – how has it been?

“Busy! And very exciting. for me personally. I had been working there since 2018 as Assistant Site Manager so it was something to work towards. It was a great honour and personal achievement to be promoted,” said John.

“The site keeps going from strength to strength. We have broken a lot of our own records so that’s been really rewarding. A lot of that is down to having a really strong management team. Each food counter has its own management team, so they all deserve credit.

“There are sometimes long days – for example if there’s a big GAA match, or this weekend Electric Picnic is on so we are a stopping point for people on their way to and from the festival.”

Changing trends

Junction 14 is hailed as one of the best forecourts in the country – winning multi-awards and constantly adapting and developing in response to changing trends – or rather, leading the trends? Would you agree – what makes Junction 14 stand out from the crowd?

“It’s part of the Lidon Group which also has forecourts in Naas, Kildare, and the M3 services in Dublin. The Lidon Group is always forward-looking and invests in its services.

“When Junction 14 opened thirteen years ago, it was one of the first forecourts of its type in Ireland, and it continues to grow from strength to strength” explained John.

“The directors Liam, Donal and Mary Therese took a chance – they had great vision and foresight. Junction 14 is constantly changing and adapting to trends – we never stand still. We are trendsetters – we are very conscious of what we want it to be.”

Training and experience

John joined the Lidon Group in 2018 as assistant site manager. Before that he had worked for McDonald’s as a franchise business manager.

“With that training and experience under my belt I decided to try something different. I had no previous retail experience coming from the quick service restaurant industry. Food is a huge part of the forecourt offering now, but retail is also still incredibly important. I had to learn the retail side quick, and of course working with the previous site manager Gavin Moran was particularly helpful.”

For the Newbridge man, the move meant his daily commute was going against the traffic flow.

“With McDonald’s I was working in Dublin, now my commute is the other direction. In fact, I’ve recently bought a house in Kildare town, not too far away.”

Awards and Accolades

Junction 14 has chalked up numerous awards since it opened – and John has even received a few accolades himself – namely Large Forecourt Manager of the Year. What did that mean to him at the time?

“It was totally unexpected and very humbling. Even though I had been working there for some time – and I knew how good Junction 14 is, it just simply wouldn’t have been possible without the whole team, in particular Colm Costello, the fresh food manager who has been at Junction 14 for thirteen years, Gosia Seweryn – Zambrero manager who has also been here 13 years and Eduardo Galeno, the Spar manager.

“With over 200 people employed there in total, everything we do is a whole team effort.”

Changes

Have you made any changes since you took up the role a year ago – have there been any significant developments in the last year?

“There are a few changes on the site since I took over, but I don’t think I can take full credit – and there’s also some new changes in the pipeline that will come to fruition.

“One important change is the CNG – Compressed Natural Gas – an additional fuel option for HGVs. This was completed last week – that’s probably been the biggest change on site. It ties in well with our moves towards alternative fuels.

“We’ve also added extra tills to speed up throughout, and there’s now a bus stop outside, with the big green bus stopping there every hour. That has helped with recruitment –  it makes Junction 14 more accessible to a wider catchment area.”

Ireland’s ‘original motorway service area’

As Junction 14 is ‘Ireland’s original motorway service area’ – what are the key strengths – what is Junction 14’s USP so to speak?

“I think it’s because there’s something for everyone – we cater for all tastes, whether that’s just snacks, or a full dinner. There’s a wide variety – with eight different brands and a retail store. Our brands now include Spar, Mayfield Fare, Subway, Supermac’s, Papa John’s, Gino’s Gelato, Zambrero, Chopped, Insomnia and Off Beat Donuts offering a wide variety of choice.

“There’s also the benefits of having a large site with plenty of parking and bus traffic. There are 44 truck parking spaces and 252 car parking spaces. We have 11 spaces for buses. We are open 24 hours – with most of the food outlets open until midnight. We also have a really large area for truck drivers. They are the people who keep our economy moving – but they also need time to rest. We have good facilities where they can park up overnight if they need to, there are showers and toilet facilities around the clock and these are always very well maintained. This is something we take great pride in.

On-site services

“On the forecourt we have 16 pumps, ad blue, four pumps for trucks and eight EV chargers. There is a drive thru car wash and hand wash available – and of course, a large seating area.

“It’s a safe and secure site with CCTV cameras – feedback from customers is that this gives confidence that it’s a safe place.”

Covid-19

The premises were expanded and new brands added in 2020 – peak Covid year, how did you manage the whole Covid era? Did those year’s change forecourt services and retailing – especially as more people work from home now?

“When Covid hit in 2020, we were in the thick of it. We started a full re-development in 2019 which was 80% finished when Covid struck. We finished it all by July 2020 and from August 2020 the full offering and brands were back – but everything was tough. It was tough getting staff, social distancing was still in place and so we had to adapt to all of that. It was takeaway only at that time, but we rose to it and ploughed through, catering to the local community.

“Also technology changed – there was the big shift away from cash to card payments. Our Wi-Fi had to be upgraded with more meetings happening online – with non-face to face meetings taking place, but technology has helped with the customers, who appreciate the great Wi-Fi.”

EV Infrastructure

The way people travel and purchase fuel is changing – with the transition away from fossil fuels and the growth in EV, how is Junction 14 responding to that transition?

“Junction 14 has been shaping up and preparing for the move away from fossil fuels. We partnered with ESB to install eight high speed EV chargers. That was a milestone for us, seeing the growth in EVs at the time.”

The charging hub is capable of providing 100km of charge in as little as six minutes. The bay contains three high power chargers (350kW) and one fast charger (50kW) which can charge up to eight Electric Vehicles (EVs) at any one time, and was launched a few years ago by the Minister at the time Eamon Ryan.

“Fossil fuels are still hugely important though. Until the infrastructure is fully in place for EVs, the confidence isn’t there just yet – but we will keep investing in the transition as fossil fuels are phased out. We may see more biofuels, and of course, our CNG pump was installed on site very recently – mainly for the use of HGVs, but some cars too.

Magic formula

Junction 14, Mayfield has been recognized nationally by this magazine, being named Forecourt Retailer of the Year three years in a row between 2012 and 2014 at our own Forecourt & Convenience Awards – is there a magic formula?

“Listening to customers – and delivering consistently with very high standards. We meet our customers’ expectations and are always looking to the future as to how we can improve and innovate.

“We listen to our staff too – there is constant customer service training as we want to keep what we do special.

“I like to think there’s something for everyone at Junction 14 – we even opened a dog walk park for family pets who are feeling cooped up during long car journeys!”

Looking ahead

How do you see the next 10 years shaping up – what will forecourt retailing – and Junction 14 specifically – look like in 2034?

“Looking ahead, climate change and sustainability will be at the core of how the business adapts. I think we will see progress with EV charging, more motorway services and places to rest and relax.

“At Junction 14 the focus is always on customer service, good food, good value, and gold standards.

“We will keep innovating and looking at what we can do differently to make constant improvements.