An Irish dream realised as new store and cafe readies to open in Kandos

Denis Doyle is behind The Irish Shop Cafe and Bar which aims to bring the Irish spirit to the town at its newly-renovated space in the historic 20 Angus Street building.

The inside is divided down the middle, with one side dedicated to the drinking and dining experience and the other packed with imported Irish products like clothing, jewellery, snacks, condiments and knick knacks.

The bar will be well-stocked with all the irish classics like Guinness and Baileys Irish Cream while the cafe will offer all-day breakfast, and an extensive lunch and dessert menu that incorporates irish flavours.

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Denis, the son of Irish immigrants, spent time in the region in his 20s on air at radio 2MG before moving to Lithgow and working at radio 2LT and later moved into the business world.

Denis owns an Irish Shop location in the Sydney suburb of Stanmore which has been running for more than three decades. The Kandos location will be the first foray into dining,

"I love this town, I enjoyed working... in Mudgee as a 20-year-old and now I'm back, I'm going to run the website from here, I'm going to run everything from here. We're getting enquiries now from the whole region, from as far [away] as Parkes and Coonamble...," Denis said.

"I think that once people know we're here... I'm pretty excited about it because it gives me more time to spend up here rather than on Parramatta Road.

"I think there's a demand for it, just judging on what people are saying in the town and in Rylstone."

An early look at the not-yet-finalised menu on social media was broadly popular with hundreds of reactions and several dozen comments on the menu from excited locals eager to get an early look at the business before it opens.

"There's nothing there that I wouldn't order, all sounds great," a comment from Wendy Williams said.

The cafe will be helmed by accomplished chef, Terry Thuell.

Terry was the head chef at Jack Duggan's Irish Pub in Bathurst for more than a decade before taking a well-deserved break and weighing up his future. It wasn't long before he found his way to Kandos through a previous working relationships with Denis - where he aims to continue his stellar work that began in Bathurst.

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"The opportunity keeps going on with something that I enjoy and also being a country venue and... I'm certainly enjoying a bit if a tree change really and I'm hoping to make a bit of a name here as well," Terry said.

"I'm just looking forward to employing some local people as well, trying to establish a good crew and make a good team. I can't do it on my own, as much as I like to sometimes, but if I can get a good crew together - I really want to be a destination venue..."

With no opening date yet decided, Denis hopes to be open by the end of July but recommended that people keep an eye on their website and social media pages for more information.

"I've always had this in my mind to do something like this. It's on a very small scale, [similar] to Avoca Handweavers in County Wicklow where they incorporate a gift shop with good quality food and we think we're going to bring the best-quality food to the region," Denis said.

The location on 20 Angus Avenue in Kandos sat unoccupied for a number of years, previously home to a tandoori restaurant and with history dating back to 1917 when it became the first permanent business in the town when WH Walsh and Co opened a butchery. The Walsh family ran the business for more than 50 years.