A New Look for a New Era – Concannon’s Daybreak of Ahascragh
Concannon’s Daybreak of Ahascragh celebrates a major re-vamp that’s fit for the future
Serving the people of Ahascragh for over 60 years, Colcannon’s of Ahascraph is keeping ahead of the times with a major re-vamp in-store – taking the local convenience store and forecourt into a new era – fit for the future.
Ahascragh is a village in east County Galway, Ireland, located 11 km north-west of Ballinasloe. It’s a rural community, where most of the small independent retailers have closed their doors over the years – unable to compete with the changing times and demographics of the area.
“I took over the running of the store during COVID as my father suffered with an illness during this period. I was joined by my wife Marcy who took over the running of our deli” said Colin Colcannon.
“Since then we’ve grown the business further through our deli and then on the shop floor.
“This enabled to invest further in the business, with our full revamp, which we hope will keep us trading far into the future and keep our business going from strength to strangth in Ahascragh.”
Colin represents the third generation of Colcannon’s running the business.
Colin’s grandparents Joe and Rita originally owned and operated the small rural grocery business which they opened around 70 years ago. Their son, Colin’s dad, Padraig took over the running of the store which was the only grocery shop left in the village, as one by one, local stores closed for one reason or another.
Demographics were changing. Rural Ireland was changing, and it was a case of adapt to survive – something Colin knew they had to do to keep up with trends and customer expectations if the business was to stay serving the local community.
In the mid-1980’s – around 1985 – Padraig took over from his parents.
Options
There was a filling station next door to the shop, and when it was discovered that it too was set to close its doors, he considered his options – and decided to take it over.
But he couldn’t do it all on his own.
Colm Dolan was Musgrave’s BDM (Business Development Manager) at the time.
“He was always there, supporting me personally,” said Padraig.
Initially, the shop was under a different symbol brand. Padraig was working for wholesalers Mangan’s, and was often on the road himself working for the wholesaler. Mangan’s was sold around that time – taken over by BWG, around the same time that he was looking to give his business a boost.
With the support of Colm Dolan and Thomas Morrison, Padraig joined Daybreak in 2008.
He was impressed by the overall branding, and impressed by both Colm and Thomas.
Great vision
“Daybreak offered a great vision, and I thought it might be a good time to make a change. Everything Musgrave did – anything Musgrave has ever done – is always successful, so I felt like I was in good hands,” explained Padraig.
“That was 16 years ago. We did a re-vamp and upgraded the store – which significantly improved the business. As we grew, we were able to take over the filling station next door in 2015.
“Colm Dolan, our BDM at the time, helped negotiate that, and by 1st April 2015, we had taken it over. We knew that this move was going to take us into a new era – but it was also a step into the unknown.”
Around that time, his son Colin had finished his studies and was ready to join the business.
“We knew we had a good customer base. My own parents had been involved in serving the community for decades and always had a great relationship with customers – now I’ve handed the reins over to my son.
Changed times
“Times have changed and we needed to do something new to survive. We built a small retail unit and moved into selling fuel. Back in my parents’ day it was unusual for a family to even have one car – nowadays, it’s not unusual for a household to have three or four cars parked up at the house” said Padraig.
“I’ve seen generations grow up here – there’s a strong generational link in the area – many of those young people might have worked in the shop at one time or another. If you’d told me even twenty years ago that we’d be selling coffees – even iced coffees – I wouldn’t have believed it, but nowadays you have to be able to offer everything that people expect from the local forecourt and convenience store.”
Colin Colcannon added “Under the Daybreak brand, we now have 9 Grams coffee, the Lickety Split ice cream brand, an off-licence and the Munch & Co deli – basically everything the consumer wants.”
‘Changed everything’
Colin explained that the Deli had basically changed everything.
“We’re open from 7am until 9pm and people are on the move all the time – there’s a lot of small employers and local industries in the area – such as a timber factory, and even a local distillery which has been a big boost. There’s always passing trade, local schools and people wanting lunches and dinners.”
Colin Concannon’s wife Marcy, a co-owner of the business, runs the Deli.
“She has a real flair and passion for the food side of things,” he explains proudly. “Meals are cooked from scratch, and the feedback from customers is fantastic.”
Colin continued “We have the whole Musgrave range in the Deli. We try to have a bit more of an offering – full dinners for the evening trade – and with the off-licence now people can pick up a bottle of wine.”
Serving the local community is an essential part of the ethos. During the pandemic, they did door to door deliveries, which was much appreciated by customers.
Complete re-vamp
Earlier this year, Concannon’s Daybreak underwent a complete re-vamp – and they are delighted with the end results.
The process started in March and was completed within around six weeks.
“We literally gutted the place” Colin explained. “We closed the Deli for three days. The team at Daybreak helped with everything. We employed local tradespeople to undertake the work – local electricians, builders, joiners and so on – the whole local community was involved as far as possible, while Daybreak helped co-ordinate it all – so it was a full team effort.
“We are delighted with the response locally. It is effectively the only shop left in the village – and local people really appreciate the investment.”
The full package
Now, Concannon’s Daybreak of Ahascragh has the full package – a Top forecourt with six pumps, parking and a range of improvements.
“It’s so important to be constantly investing and re-inventing the business – we are constantly changing. It’s a far cry today from my parent’s day – when tea came in chests and we’d weigh it out. Things have completely changed since then – now iced coffee is the new thing.
“Down through the years, we have had great people working for us. A lot of young people started their working life with us – maybe doing a part time job before going off to start careers, studies or professions elsewhere – but people go away and still come back, keeping in touch with the community.
“We also support our local GAA and soccer clubs – that’s always an important part of being part of the local community, especially in rural areas. There’s still a lot of young families and national schools.”
Customer service
The more things change the more they stay the same – customer service is always at the core of everything Concannon’s Daybreak does – but the help and support from Daybreak has been incredible – and Padraig says they couldn’t have achieved it all without the support of the Daybreak team – from promotions cycles, posters, flyers, to the Lickety Split ice cream, 9 Grams coffee, and every aspect of the full Daybreak package.
One of the challenges is the constant pace of change – trying to keep up with everything – but the Daybreak team keeps them right and takes control of any new developments that are outside their control – such as policy or legislative changes – the Daybreak team always keeps them right.
Technology
Technology has also offered a whole range of business solutions – with apps, mobiles, and tap’n’go being the preferred options for a younger generation. But Daybreak has even thought of that – helping with a floor layout that helps with customer flow – whether the customer wants to browse around, or just get a coffee and a lunch roll then go.
“It’s all about lifestyle now” said Colin. “Everything is faster, but people still want quality food and good customer service – those two things will always stay the same.
“At Concannon’s Daybreak we’ve put our hearts and souls into the new-look store. We are very proud of it, and delighted with the response. We couldn’t have achieved it all on our own, so a huge thanks to all at Daybreak for making it happen.”
