Cork’s Rooftop Farm Shop opens soon – with some glorious greenery planned for the facade
It’ll be as lush outside as it is indoors.
The urban farmers behind Cork’s Rooftop Farm are finalising plans for the organisation’s first dedicated retail space, unveiling an illustration of how the facade of the Cornmarket Street building will be transformed using living greenery.
With the Farm Shop expected to open at the end of next month, Brian McCarthy’s business has now secured a fire cert for the premises, a major step towards welcoming the public up to the rooftop, with a new stairs and railings set to be completed this week.
The long-term vision for the space includes a coffee counter, a fresh produce store where customers will be able to stock up on fruit and vegetables grown above their heads, as well as eggs produced by the urban farm chickens and raw milk produced on Laharn Dairy Farm near Macroom.
Award-winning retail and hospitality architects 21 Spaces, who designed The Mont and The Alex hotels in Dublin as well as Glandore’s trendy co-working spaces on Lapp’s Quay, have been working on the project since July.
“Our Grow Towers are churning out some really lush produce currently and we are delighted to have them back up and running after a bit of reorganisation and some new systems.” said Brian.
“We are also going to be moving 10 of our towers into our farm shop which we hope to have open this October.”
A Cork eatery is currently in talks to run the rooftop restaurant, where chefs will have their pick of the freshest vegetables (about 50 varieties) grown just feet from their kitchen, as well as freshly laid eggs, local honey from the farm’s hives, and a wealth of seasonal herbs from the polytunnels.
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The entrance will be on Cork’s busy Cornmarket Street, where the farm has been operated a takeaway vegetable shop through a hatch during the lockdown.
