Irish Trucker

The Mother of all Truck Stops
 

Friendly staff, tasty affordable food, value for money, easy access, convenient overnight parking facilities, shower facilities and much, much more: all the traits of a Mother Hubbard's restaurant. Since its inception in 1978, Mother Hubbard's has provided a service that meets the demands of its many clients, a large portion of whom are in the trucking industry.
 
After being on the road all day, hunger, fatigue and loneliness begin to set in while the monotony and rigour of the long haul becomes a common acquaintance, particularly of the trucker. How best to alleviate the resultant damage than to visit one of the most reliable, efficient and multiservice truck stops in the country. When you enter any of the Mother Hubbard's chain of restaurants around the country you can be sure of being greeted with a friendIy smile. You can also be sure of meeting a truck driver, as they account for a large portion of Mother Hubbard's customers.
 
Paddy Sweeney is the Managing Director of Mother Hubbard's. He purchased the business in 1995 along with his sister, and he realises the importance of the truck driver to the success of the business.
 
"Without the trucker, we simply wouldn't survive," he admits. "They play an integral part in our business so we are constantly expanding to meet their demands.We really appreciate their business."
 
Indeed, Mother Hubbard's rewards its customers for their tremendous loyalty. Each time they purchase a meal they receive a token and when they collect 35 tokens they are entitled to spin a wheel and win many prizes. This has been in progress for the past year and a half and has been a great success.
 
Mother Hubbard's has been expanding rapidly over the past number of years. The outlets in Moyvalley, Cashel and Galway have all been developed of late while their hope is to have a restaurant on every major route in the country. Early next year, they will open restaurants in Oranmore and Wexford.
 
"The outlet in Oranmore will be located five miles the Dublin side of Oranmore and should be open by February. The car park will facilitate up to 200 cars and 30 trucks while the restaurant will have a self service counter and regular table service combined with a full bar attached to the restaurant which will offer pubgrub all day. The outlet in Wexford is on the Cork road out of Wexford town and that should be also open by February.
 
"We are actively on the look out for other sites around the country on main national/primary routes. It is quite difficult to find IocaIities that are big enough to cater for trucks. We also depend a lot on local trade so the ideaI location is on a major route on the outskirts of a town," he explains.
 
Mother Hubbard's is a popular family restaurant particularly at the weekend. They serve Sunday lunches at a reasonable price and a lot of their custom derives from the people of the locality.
 
Their outlet in Cashel has recentIy applied for pIanning permission for a drivethru facility which they hope to open on St Patrick's day next year. The premises at Moyvalley is their biggest outlet and seating there has recently been extended to cater for around 200 people."We open at 5.30am and don't close until 11.00pm. These opening hours are convenient for people who spend a lot of time on the road. In the Moyvalley outlet we have plans to open a drive-thru facility in January 1 which enables a driver to grab a quick meal if they're in a rush. We are also designing a special drive-thru window or truck drivers which will be at a higher level than the normal windows. This will be the first of its kind in the country.
 
"We have also applied for planning permission in the Moyvalley outlet to build a 60 bedroom hotel. We are optimistic that our request will be granted as we feel this will compliment our existing business," he comments.
 
Moyvalley has plenty of other facilities that caters for the needs of the truck driver. These include overnight parking, a banklink, a restroom specifically for truckers, a wake up call, showers and a barber shop. It's a real home from home for a truck driver. A large number of the staff that are presently working in Mother Hubbard's in Moyvalley have been there since the restaurant first opened. Paddy credits this to the exceIIent management structure in the outlet.
 
"Chris Kenny is the manager in Moyvalley and she has a very capable team working for her. There are over one hundred people employed there and they work really well together. They are a friendly staff who realise that the customer is always right."
 
"In Cashel, Breda Hewitt is in charge while Josephine Healy manages operations in Kilcolgan. They both have a tremendous core group of staff working with them and they have been employed by us since we first opened."
 
Paddy is also fulsome in his praise for the management committee.
"David Smyth is the General Manager, Brendan Glynn is the Marketing Manager, my sister Yvonne is the Personnel Manager and Michelle O'Farrell is the Head Of Administration. They are all directors in the company and have displayed great loyalty in our attempt to achieve the goals set. I have great confidence in all members of the staff at Mother Hubbard's, he says.
 
For now, Mother Hubbard's is continuing to provide an excellent service to truckers throughout the country. With outlets opening every year and plans in progress to open more on all the major routes, the truck driver can look forward to visiting a restaurant every day regardless of where their work takes them. Good news all round.
 
 

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