50 NOFFLA NEWS
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Dublin diamond
The winner of NOffLA’s Bombay Sapphire Dublin Off-Licence of the Year 2022 Award, McHughs Off-Licence on the Malahide Road, Artane, has something special to offer everyone, regardless of their budget. Gillian Hamill caught up with owner Cathal McHugh to learn more about what makes this store stand out from the competition “Wine is bottled poetry,” the Scottish poet Robert Louis Stevenson famously said. Selling wine can likewise be something of a subtle and delicate art in reading the customer. Something which Cathal McHugh knows only too well, as the owner of McHughs Off-Licence on the Malahide Road, Artane, which earlier this year was named The Bombay Sapphire Dublin OffLicence of the Year 2022.
Helpful customer service The personal touch never goes amiss, even for customers who prefer to browse the shelves without assistance. “There are some customers that don’t want to engage with you, so we try to get as much knowledge as possible onto our point-of-sale materials. We put little quotes, notes or something that appeared in a newspaper onto our signage to help customers select a bottle of wine. “We’ll always try to offer our assistance; very gently, very subtly,” he continues. “Can I help you?” And if they say no, you say to them ‘well, I’ll just be over there if you need to ask anything’. Sometimes people feel intimidated but once they do engage with you, I’d like to think
that our staff, they would be a very well-trained team and they’re always able to give pointers across wines, beers and spirits.” In fact, given their enthusiasm and knowledge on spirits, “if anyone comes in looking for a good whiskey or gin, they’ll get the ears burnt off them talking to them about it!” McHugh laughs. He himself is a seasoned hand within the trade, explaining: “We’re second generation within the grocery and drinks business and in 1995, we opened the first of our two independent offlicences, which are situated on Kilbarrack Road and on Malahide Road in Artane. Proudly serving an excellent range of wines, with 900 labels in-store, and options across all price brackets, from €10 all the way up to the €300/€400 mark, McHugh says he would much rather the person looking for an inexpensive €10 bottle came in their door, instead of heading into the supermarkets. “We have a good range within the €10 – €12 bracket but our main specialty and expertise comes at the higher levels of wine. However, we want those people buying a €10 wine to come in our door instead of the supermarket because one day, they’ll approach us and look for something better
With floor-to-ceiling windows at the front of the store, “the whole impression as you come into the store is large and open and inviting,” says retailer Cathal McHugh
ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie
Award sponsored by Bombay Sapphire
but if they’re not coming in our door, we’ll never get the chance to sell them that something better.”
Pre-made cocktails Cocktail fans are also in for a treat at McHughs as the business has created its own range of premium pre-made cocktails. Explaining how this development came about, McHugh says: “During Covid, there was a big move towards cocktails and cocktail-making at home but also pre-made cocktails. We saw that trend and started bottling our own pre-made cocktails. We also own a restaurant and we have a
mixologist there, so we mix batches of really premium cocktails with all the best ingredients and we bottle them in 500ml bottles under our brand, Shake Me! Cocktails, and they’re going very well.” The core range of these top-quality cocktails includes a Magarita, Cosmopolitan, Old Fashioned and a Porn Star Martini. As well as an extensive range, McHugh’s believes it’s important to offer “extensive refrigeration. Most drinks are consumed quite soon after purchase, so we make sure that everybody can buy beer cold from us.”
McHughs showcases an extensive selection of wines, beers, ciders and spirits
