It has now been a couple of months since NUIG’s favourite coffee shop was taken over by new management, and what a month it has been for us.
Three years ago when SCCUL Enterprises opened SAOL Cafe they had a vision to make it a special landmark in Galway as the first “Social Inclusion Café” at a University in Ireland. We strongly believe in that vision and are excited to be carrying on with all the hard work that SCCUL Enterprises has put in since Saol Café first opened in 2015.
For the past month, we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know everyone in the Life Course Building and meeting our neighbours from the Biosciences Research Building, as well as the IDA Park in Dangan.
It has been a ton of fun getting our fabulous team in place, including Joanna, Alicja, Enda and Christopher. You may recognize Christopher as a familiar face around SAOL CAfe as he was one of the original staff members. We are thrilled to have him on board. Joanna and Alicja have also spent their fair share of time around campus and have put their heart and soul into getting SAOL Café up and running.
We would also like to offer our congratulations to Alicja and her new husband Pawel. The two tied the knot just before Saul’s grand reopening. Congrats you two!
Even though it has been fun, our first few months have certainly been busy. Not only our day to day operations where we have the pleasure of serving NUI’s wonderful students and staff, but we have also had our hands full catering some very exciting events.
In September we catered for the Whitaker Institute’s “10 Years On: How Ireland has changed since the financial crisis.” And after that the Department of Foreign Affairs asked us to cater their very large event titled, “Getting Ireland Brexit Ready.” Both events were tough but a lot of fun, and we were even lucky enough to get Simon Coveney Tanaiste to take a snap with the team.
We may be getting settled here at SAOL Cafe but that does not mean we have any intention of slowing down. We have big plans, and are continuing to work with Employability to hopefully continue to grow our team.
And of course we plan to keep you full of coffee, treats, and whatever else you need to get you through your day on campus. So come on in and say hello to the SAOL Cafe family next time you find yourself at NUIG. And check back next month to hear all about the great things we have on the horizon to keep making SAOL Café even more awesome.