Mark Cronin recently opened Bismarck in Stoneybatter, Dublin 7. As the venture gets into its stride, he tells us about the Store, Dairy, and Parlour named after the famous Prussian diplomat.
Mark, tell us a little about your background, and where your interest in food stems from.
I’m from Macroom in West Cork and I guess I’m lucky that I’ve always been surrounded by good food and good producers. Every Tuesday is Mart day and there’s a market in the Town Square with lots of local producers including Toon’s Bridge and two great Fruit and Veg stalls. The town also has other great produce including Macroom Flour and Oats, and there’s many more.
My Mam is a great cook and my aunt Nell was main chef in Creedon’s Hotel in Inchigeelagh for years. I used to shadow her as a five year old obsessed by the kitchen, which must have been a real treat for the other staff working there!
We’re getting flashbacks to Leaving Cert history here, but we have to ask… What’s the story behind the name?
Well it’s not after my name! It’s on Prussia St, and no one seems to know where that name came from, but research is currently being done! I have a vivid memory of Bismarck during Leaving Cert history and German Unification, so it all fitted. I also had to do a lot of research to make sure he wasn’t a bad ‘un – spoiler alert – he’s not!
‘Store. Dairy. Parlour.’ What can customers/diners expect at Bismarck?
It’s a space for people to just relax and have the craic. My grandparents had a farm in Coolroe, Inchigeelagh and the rooms in the house were the dairy, the out dairy and then the good room was the Parlour, which was for entertaining and talking. I’m not sure if they knew how French they were!
What have you planned for the future?
We have a lovely back area we are currently developing with plants and we have plans to open for wine etc in next few weeks. We’ll be serving some nice wines and plates of olives, cheese, meats etc for less than a tenner, all from top quality Irish and Mediterranean suppliers at a good and happy price.
We’re very fortunate with the space we have at Bismarck, which has made it very easy to come up with ideas for the place. Some plans we have in the pipeline include hosting live, intimate gigs bringing in some of the best Irish musicians out there!
Also in the next few weeks we will be open in the evening serving wine and the best of Toons Bridge produce from olives, cheeses and meats. So definitely keep an eye on our Instagram page for updates!
You’re just open a month or so now… How is it all going so far?
It’s been absolutely UNREAL. The reaction in Stoneybatter has been amazing and we’re getting great support. We’re open from 7am, with nineties tunes and a bit of Eurovision mixed in. Oh! and lots of olives. x
Words: Martina Murray
