The new Lynas Food Outlet is situated at Magowan West, Portadown and will open to the public and trade on Thursday 8^th September at 10am.

“We are thrilled to open the doors of our new Portadown store as part of our continued expansion in Northern Ireland. For a long time, I have wanted to open a Lynas Food Outlet in this area, and I am very happy to have found the right location in Magowan West”, said Andrew Lynas, Group Managing Director.

“We are excited to welcome the public and trade customers from the area into our unique shopping environment that ensures they get big, bulk and value products. Now more than ever in the current cost of living crisis, the Food Outlet can help families with its bulk and value for money offering.”

Lynas Food Outlet opened their first store in 2013 and now have 11 stores across Northern Ireland. The parent company of Lynas Foodservice began over seventy years ago from a fishmongers shop on a small street in Coleraine and has grown into the largest family-owned foodservice company in Ireland.

Through its stores, Lynas Food Outlet offers hundreds of quality fresh, frozen, grocery and household products in bigger packs at wholesale value. The stores also have their own Butchery Merchant meaning that each cut is hand selected by Lynas’s own Causeway Prime Craft Butchers.

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Keneagles Ltd, whose directors include pharmacy boss Colin Johnston, said Lynas Food Outlet will launch at Antrim’s Castle Mall in late autumn.

Work is due to start to restructure part of the mall so that the 8,500 sq ft store can open.

Mascott Construction is due to carry out the building work at the new outlet — which will be reached from Central Car Park — creating 30 construction jobs.

The Lynas family, who own Lynas Foodservice, have said they have ambitious expansion plans to reach 18 stores by 2024.

The new outpost will stock Lynas’ ‘frozen-for-freshness range’, which includes big-pack fresh chicken fillets, multipack bulk-value deals and Lynas’ own-brand butchery label, Causeway Prime.

Gary Mills, Lynas Foodservice chief operating officer, said: “We are thrilled to see work beginning in Castle Mall for our latest Lynas Food Outlet.

“Antrim is going through a huge regeneration and, with more investment in the town centre and additional family homes under construction, we see the potential in this catchment area and are delighted to not only bring our product range to the town, but also create additional jobs throughout the construction and retail operations.”

Pamela Minford, centre manager at Castle Mall, said she was pleased to see another retailer investing in the scheme.

“2022 has been a positive year for shaping retail and we have been on a growth trajectory since the transfer to the new owners in 2021.

“Lynas Food will reshape Castle Mall completely by opening it up onto Central Car Park and inviting customers to continue their shopping experience right through the centre.

“We have a strong local community in Antrim who want to see Castle Mall succeed and this is just the beginning of our regeneration strategy, with further exciting development plans to come soon.”

Investment in Castle Mall has also brought about the upsizing and relocation of health shop Holland & Barrett, as well as Specsavers and Card Factory. A new Vietnamese-style coffee shop has also opened, while pet store Furbies is set to open next month.

Billy Webb, the Alliance mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, said: “As a well-known brand in Northern Ireland, Lynas will undoubtedly be a big attraction for shoppers and will be key to the further development of this part of Antrim.

“The council working with the private sector has developed really ambitious plans for Antrim and looks forward to implementing these over the coming years.”

Castle Mall was bought over by UK property company Edinburgh House in 2010.

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council granted planning permission for redevelopment at Castle Mall last year.

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The event returns to the Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast from Tuesday March 29 to Thursday March 31 March 2022, when it will be celebrating its 25th anniversary.

As one of Northern Ireland’s longest-standing trade exhibitions where foodservice and hospitality’s biggest players all come under one roof, IFEX is laying down the foundations to ensure next year’s show is a success, with  support from associations including Hospitality Ulster, the Federation of Small Business, Retail NI and The Guild of Fine Food.

“As one of the sectors most impacted by the pandemic, IFEX, marks a new dawn for foodservice, hospitality and retail as industry rebuilds following an unprecedented period of closures and restrictions,” said Toby Wand, Managing Director of 365 Events Ltd.
“IFEX is firmly-rooted in NI’s hospitality industry and celebrating its 25^th anniversary, next year’s show is set to shine a light on the importance of IFEX to Northern Ireland’s hospitality sector and will provide a vital meeting place for those within the industry to reconnect, uncover new learnings, secure new business and discover relevant technologies to improve their businesses and customer focus.

“With four months to go, we’re delighted that so many key industry players as well as new brands have already joined the growing exhibitor list, so we’ve high hopes for the 2022 event.”

Big names

Many of Northern Ireland’s biggest names in foodservice have already confirmed, including Stephens Catering Equipment, Henderson Foodservice, Sysco, Golden Glen and Lynas.

Central to IFEX is Salon Culinaire, Ireland’s largest and most prestigious chef competition programme, headed up by Salon Director, Sean Owens.

As the stomping ground for student and industry chefs, Salon Culinaire is hotly anticipated as the place where the ‘best of’ culinarians in Northern Ireland are formally acknowledged.

From showcasing the latest food and drink trends to industry leading technology, equipment and services, IFEX will feature a range of visitor attractions designed to inspire and engage.

The event will be a one stop shop for discovering some of the best products that NI has to offer, including a new Hospitality Skills Hub, new IFEX Innovation Awards and the return of the Great Taste Market, bringing together the best of Northern Ireland and Ireland’s speciality food and drink products.

IFEX, taking place from the 29^th – 31^st March 2022 at the TEC, Belfast, is organised by 365 Events. The forthcoming exhibition will be operating in line with all public health guidelines.

For further information on IFEX, see www.ifexexhibition.co.uk

Caption: Colin Neill, Hospitality Ulster; Andrew Davis, Retail NI; Brendan Kearney, FSB NI with Sean Owens, IFEX Salon Culinaire Director.

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Northern Irish based foodservice wholesaler Lynas has opened its ninth retail store and revealed plans to double its large foodservice stores in the next three years. The family-owned wholesalers plan to take the total number of stores to 18 by 2024 in an ambitious development strategy.

The new 9,000 sq ft ‘food outlet’ in Strabane is the wholesaler’s second-largest unit. The Strabane store includes new product ranges including artisan producer McColgan’s sausage rolls, pies, and pastries, the Tree of Life healthcare range and more than 40 new US confectionery SKUs.

Roll out

All the new products will be rolled out across Lynas retail stores next month. Lynas own-brand butchery label Causeway Prime will also be available through the in-store ‘butchery merchant’ department.

New design

Featuring polished concrete floors and walk-in chiller, the Strabane shop has been designed differently to its sister stores, and has created 10 new jobs to the Strabane area.

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