Celebrating the opening of the new James Whelan Butchers shop in Dunnes Stores, Leopardstown, Dublin, which is one of two James Whelan Butchers shops opening, with the second opening taking place in Tralee on Nov 4th. The CEO of James Whelan Butchers, Pat Whelan, is joined by Peter Hannan, CEO of Hannan Meats, with Fran Caffrey, Executive Butcher, Johnny Behan, Operations Manager and Paul Lynch, Business Development Manager to open the new James Whelan Butchers shop.
Multi-award-winning artisan butcher James Whelan Butchers are opening two new shops within a day of each other in November, one in the market town of Tralee in Co. Kerry and the other in the South Dublin suburbs of Leopardstown, creating over 60 new jobs in the process. With two shops opening in two days it brings to over 240 people now employed in a business that had humble beginnings in Clonmel in the 1960s.
Founded by James and Joan Whelan and now under the stewardship of their son, CEO Pat Whelan, the business has 12 shops throughout Ireland, as well as a vibrant online shop established in the early 2000s that offers a door to door service through its national and local delivery service. In 2020 the company introduced a Centre of Excellence and Logistics Centre in Clonmel, which is also the location of the business’s headquarters.
CEO Pat Whelan stated “It has been an amazing, yet humbling journey building this great business that was started by my parents 55 years ago. Within the business, we always say it takes great people to build a great business and we are lucky to have a dedicated, hard-working team who are passionate about creating great food and delivering world-class customer service. Many have been part of the James Whelan Butchers’ story for years and it is fantastic for all of us to see this team grow even further with the opening of our Tralee and Leopardstown shops.”
Pat added, “This expansion would not have been possible either without the very special partnerships we have nurtured with other like-minded food producers, who share the same ethos as us around sustainable food production. Nor would have been possible without our loyal customers and friends, some of whom have shopped with us since we first opened our doors in Clonmel back in 1966.”
The company has always had an innovative approach to business, which was years before its time. In the early 2000’s it was the first butcher to introduce an online shop and in 2011 a unique collaboration with Avoca was launched and now there are two James Whelan Butchers in Avoca outlets, in Rathcoole and Kilmacanogue.
In 2016, the award-winning butcher collaborated with one of Ireland’s much-loved family brands, Dunnes Stores to open three James Whelan Butchers shops in Dublin – Cornelscourt and Rathmines in 2016 and Swords in 2017. In 2018 new shops opened in Dunnes Stores Blanchardstown and Cork. In 2019 two further shops opened – Naas and Jetland, Limerick. Now with the addition of Tralee and Leopardstown, it brings to nine the number of James Whelan Butcher shops within Dunnes Stores innovative Food Halls opening up around the country.
The CEO of James Whelan Butchers, Pat Whelan with Peter Hannan, CEO of Hannan Meats at the store opening.
