Ground Espresso, Northern Ireland's largest independent café chain, is planning on expanding into the Republic.
Its first venture will be in conjunction with retailer Next in Blanchardstown, Dublin. It also plans to open two new outlets in Next stores in the North, where it already has several standalone coffee bars as well as concessions in Next and Waterstones stores.
The company, which prides itself on being a specialist coffee bar, hopes to open three stores in the Republic within the next year and is negotiating for several sites here.
The company is owned by Darren and Karen Gardiner who said that they are investing around £1.5 million in expanding the business. They are finalising six locations around Ireland which will create over 100 new jobs in the next year.
Karen said that she was confident that there was room in the coffee market in the Republic for a newcomer.
Works have already commenced on the Blanchardstown unit which is due to open in the coming weeks, creating around 20 new jobs.
