Welcome To Greystuccino

We’re going to go out on a limb here and say that, maybe, just maybe, it’s time we put a cap on the cappuccinos in this fair town of ours.

At this point, approximately one in every three businesses along our main street sells coffee.

Take a few steps further, and you’ll find another seven down at the harbour (well, five, if you count The Beach House, the bar and Dann’s as one).

Add in Blacklion, Charlesland, Delgany, Kilcoole and beyond, and it’s like you’ve landed smack dab in the middle of Little Italy.

This morning, local busybody Nadia Conroy counted 22 in Greystones itself. A local taximan chipped in with a 27 total – but then, Greystones taximen always go that extra mile. Well, we counted 26, just on the main street. And the mildly java-jolting news is, there are more to come.

Meeting Jeff Behan from Buoys Kitchen down at the Dart station yesterday, he was somewhat exasperated to see Dublin coffee chain Bailey & Pim are opening there shortly. Add to that Camile Thai restaurant in the new Mount View building [alongside a jeweller’s, we’re told], and a restaurant most likely in the equally-pimped Waverly House [where Camile were due to open], and that’s another three on the main street. Following hot on the heels of Relish opening up beside Café Gray, and opposite the recently-opened Eleven Deli. And just down the road from the recently-open Brunels.

Truly, our coffee cup options runneth over.

“In Dublin, they have a quota of shops to cafés, to make sure that each one feeds the other,” said Jeff. “I checked with Greystones’ local council, and there’s basically no plan. when it comes to the number of cafés opening here. At all.”

Which seems ever-so-slightly bonkers. It’s already a foam-eat-foam world in Greystones, and the arrival of even more coffee shops would surely mean it’s only be a matter of time when another Greystones eaterie goes the way of the recently-closed Tramyard. Which, incidentally, is going to be a second restaurant for Bochelli’s – so, coffee again there real soon. Phew.

So, perhaps the powers that be down at Greystones Municipal District office might like to actually draw up a caffeine overload emergency plan here, one that might just pull the town back from being rechristened Greystuccino?

Besides, all these coffee shenanigans is starting to mess with the town’s no.1 espresso impressario, Tommaso. A man who knows people. Who know people.