Dublin Council Approves Food Hall at Historic St Andrew’s Church

Dublin City Council has approved Fáilte Ireland's planning application to convert the vacant St Andrew’s Church on Suffolk Street into a food hall, which is expected to become a major cultural and economic asset for the city. The development aims to showcase the best of local and Irish produce in a high-quality setting, reinvigorating the historic building while generating 30 to 40 full and part-time jobs. Fáilte Ireland will not operate the food hall directly but plans to lease the space to an experienced operator. Food tourism currently contributes around €2 billion to the Irish economy annually, and this project is seen as a way to sustain and grow that sector by creating iconic food and drink experiences. The planning approval follows a previous 2019 permission granted to the Wright Group for a similar project, which did not proceed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Separately, Woods Companies from central Ohio is proposing a walkable shopping district in Dublin, Ohio, featuring 93,000 square feet of commercial space around a town square, designed as a village center rather than a strip mall, with plans emphasizing green spaces and varied retail offerings.