CuisinePosted on 14.04.2013

Introducing – Romayo’s Diner & D. Macari’s Diner

This week in our ‘Introducing’ series – we feature Romayo’s Diner and D. Macari’s Diner.  Here’s what they have to say…

We operate 8 stores under the names Romayo’s Diner and D.Macari’s Diner. These stores are based in the Blanchardstown, Castleknock, Clonsilla, Belmayne, Clongriffin,Sandyford Maynooth and Slane This is a family run business which has been operating in Ireland for over 50 years now. Dominic Macaris father setup the first store in Bolton Street in Dublin in 1959. The business is now operated by Dominic and his family.

The core strength of all the stores is the traditional fish and chips. But thanks to our large menus which have been developed over many years of listening and observing our customers we believe that we have now firmly established our place in the Irish food market as a diner where there is something in the menu that will please every member of the family. From children to their Grandparents, everyone will find something they fancy on our menu. The menu still contains all the traditional favourites such as batter sausages, ¼ pounders, spice burgers, batter burgers and Southern Fried Chicken. But with customers tastes constantly changing we are finding newer products such as our kebab ranges (in the pitta or in the tray) and our freshly prepared grilled chicken fillet wraps quickly joining the list of favourites on our menu.

Some of our systems have not changed since the first store opened in 1959. ‘If something isn’t broken then why fix it’. A great example of this is our process of making a bag of chips which has not changed:

Step – 1 Testing – After cooking and trying many samples of potatoes the best quality potato is ordered from our potato supplier. This a weekly procedure which is carried out religiously by the boss man himself and no potato ever makes it into any of stores without passing this stage

Step – 2 Preparation - the potatoes are delivered to the stores on a weekly basis. They are peeled at the beginning of every day then hand chipped throughout the day as they are required. As far as we are aware we are the only chain of stores who still manually peel and hand chip our potatoes on the premises and we believe that this is what makes our bag of chips better than our competitors.

Step – 3 Serving - once hand chopped the potatoes are ready for cooking.  When ordered the freshly cut chips are cooked, packed, a quick sprinkle of salt and our home-made vinegar and finally ready to be enjoyed.

In April 2010 we opened our first flagship Diner Store in Belmayne in Dublin 13, Macaris Diner, just off the Clarehall Roundabout. We were of the opinion that changing trends meant that customers wanted more than the traditional over the counter fish and chips. We felt that with our high quality fresh foods and excellent value prices there was place in the diner market.  Our second Diner, name Romayos Diner, was opened at the beginning of 2012 in Clongriffin , also in Dublin 13.

We have been using the JUST-EAT system in our stores for over 4 years.  Online ordering is definitely the fastest growing sector of our business in recent years. The fact that ‘staying in is the new going out ‘has led to a greater demand from our customers for home deliveries.

There is no doubt that Just-Eat is the market leader in online ordering in Ireland. To date we have found Justeat to be a dynamic customer friendly company. They invest heavily in marketing which is vital in today’s market.