Running something for sentimental reasons is a fool’s errand”: Peaches Kemp on 25 years in business
5th September, 2024
Seasoned Entrepreneur Peaches Kemp spoke to our media partner The Currecny recently on 25 years in business and her involvment in the Entrepreneur Experience
It is bucketing rain when I leave my interview with Peaches Kemp at The Commons Café in the basement of the Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI) on Stephen’s Green. Take one of these umbrellas by the door, she urges me – she has noticed it unclaimed in the stand for ages, no one owns it.
Kemp has weathered upturns, downturns, and a pandemic over her 25 years as a food entrepreneur by always being across the details.
“The computer can’t always tell you what people want,” she tells me, stressing the importance of being on hand to listen to her staff and customers. “I still work shifts…because you’re seeing stuff on the ground.”
And she makes sure to eat at her own restaurants. “I wasn’t happy with one of the sandwiches,” she says. “We tweaked it, we changed it, we put a bit more cheese in it, we took something else out, put less butter in it, toasted it for longer… boom.”
Peaches and her sister Domini have been a force on the Irish culinary scene since their first restaurant, Itsa Bagel, opened in 1999. In the years since, they founded several other establishments.
