Healthy eating venture expands in city centre

What was Lydon House Bakery on Shop Street and became Lynch’s Café for the last 20 years, has made way for a new eatery run by a young city businesswoman.

Lynch’s closed its doors on May 2 and re-opened as 56 Central last week, under the ownership of Gill Carroll, who also owns the successful 37 West in Newcastle.

She has extensive experience in the hospitality sector. She ran a bar in Edinburgh for some time and later decided to bring her business savvy back to Galway.

“Lynch’s Cafe was a fantastic part of Galway life for so many and I had the pleasure of working there for over two years. I knew then I always wanted to return and put my stamp on this restaurant,” explained Ms Carroll.

Gill Carroll, owner of 37 West and 56 Central

“I worked there when I was 16, and I’m 35 now so that’s 20 years ago this summer. My father owns Zhivago, so in a way I’ve always been on Shop Street.”

Her other business 37 West is a part of wave of healthy food eateries in the city, and was listed on the McKenna guide recently.

She also sits on the board of the Galway City Business Association as well as the Galway Chamber of Commerce. She has been an ardent supporter of local charity initiatives too.

Ms Carroll is clearly vested in the local economy and its continued growth.

“37 West is open two years now and is firmly fixed on peoples’ radar, for bringing healthy and sexy food to the table and will continue to do so.”

Gill has attended boot camps, completed the ‘Tough Mudder’ obstacle race twice and ran her first half-marathon recently. All these successes have been fuelled by an energising Paleo diet.

“I knew I needed to be the healthiest version of myself and wanted to enjoy, eat, taste real foods that were filling and good for me. The healthy lifestyle has helped me to bring the best side of me to the table at 37 West and in business.

“56 Central is going to be a very different experience and will be about the heartfelt experience with food, people, art and culture and where better to do this than in the heart of Galway.

“There will be certain elements of 37 West in the 56 Central menu, we’ve worked hard on that and as they say, you don’t fix what’s not broken. We have a bigger space and a bigger kitchen so we can offer a bit more choice, with a few new dishes and a few new spins on them.

“It will be a space to reconnect. We’ve looked at the connection between people, food, art, nature and culture. [We’re bringing ] a simple and honest approach, sourcing local produce where possible, and even how we’re designing the building.”

Finbar 247, a local artist and Dan Gardner worked together with Gill to create a kitsch, casual, arty experience using a lot of recycled decor to give it a very different feel.

On top of the new venture, there was good news for staff employed under Lynch’s. All staff were retained and there will even be more job opportunities within the restaurant over the coming months.