Moira emerging as a hub for independent food businesses in Northern Ireland

Ignited in 2016 by Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink, the County Down village of Moira has continued to thrive year on year as a foodie destination in Northern Ireland.

Over recent years, Moira has seen a surge in the number of independent artisans who have set up shop, establishing Moira as a local food and drink hotspot, attracting visitors from across the country.

Moira has long been associated with renowned butchery businesses McCartney’s of Moira and Hannan’s Meats, but in the last decade the village has been a magnet for restaurants and artisan food producers. In 2015 chef Chris McGowan returned to Northern Ireland from London and chose Moira as the destination for his now much-lauded restaurant, Wine & Brine. Since then, the village has gone from strength to strength with investment by local pubs, The Stillhouse and Pretty Mary’s.

Over the last couple of years other artisan food businesses have bolstered the foodie offering in the village with restaurant Origin 101, Ispini Charcuterie & Deli, Glume Boulangerie and Moon Gelato, who is currently preparing 6000 single tubs of gelato for the VIP section at Irish festival, Electric Picnic.

The newest kid on the block is Pizza Street opened just a few months ago by husband-and-wife team Massimo & Dee Fierro. Hailing from Naples, Italy, Massimo and his wife Dee, a native of Northern Ireland, recently made the big decision to shut the doors on their Canterbury-based Italian restaurant ‘Pinocchio’s’ and relocate from the UK to Moira.

“As part of our decision-making process we conferred with our network of family and friends, and they all cited Moira as an ‘independent and friendly’ village with a great reputation for food, so it was the obvious choice for us. We took the plunge and haven’t looked back!” said Dee.

Pizza Street is thriving in the village and word is spreading for the high-quality wood fired pizzas and varied street food menu. Reflecting on the reason why they left the UK, Massimo said: “We love the fact that Northern Ireland and Moira in particular, has so many independent businesses, the variety of goods and services on offer and the ability to speak directly with the owners who are rightly passionate about their businesses is so refreshing and something that we have found to be severely lacking these days in England.

“While the big chains play a role in attracting consumers to the cities, the smaller towns and villages gain their identity through their independent businesses who are part of their community and contribute to making a place enjoyable to live in. We have received so much encouragement and support from our local community, we love shopping local too and are able to buy some of our ingredients from other suppliers within the village”.

Leigh Ferguson, chef patron of Origin 101 also chose Moira to open a restaurant with his partner and Moira native Kelsey Kane. Commenting on the decision to start their business venture in Moira, Leigh added: “In the last eight-10 years Moira has been up and coming on the food scene. It is central to so many with quality local producers that match our values and aspirations for our restaurant. Also being local we knew the clientele – we were greatly supported by the whole community during Covid and have continued to be ever since.”

Massimo and Leigh are among a diverse range of local artisan establishments who made the decision to pick Moira as their destination of choice to open and expand their local businesses, influenced by the village’s reputation as a fine food hub. This paired with its desirable location local to Belfast and on the route to Dublin, has resulted in Moira becoming a prime destination that attracts visitors and small business owners from across Northern Ireland and beyond.

You can experience the foodie delights available in Moira all in one place, this weekend at the Moira Speciality Food Fair. Taking place on Saturday, August 19, the food fair will set up on Moira Demesne from 10am – 6pm.