The staff and owners of SOLAS Eco Garden Shop in Portarlington are on tender hooks of excitement waiting for the big day on TV, when they will feature on RTE’s Nationwide which is to air at 7pm on Monday September 20.
David Maher co-owner of SOLAS explained: “This is just so huge for us – it is the type of publicity money really couldn’t buy – or at least certainly not one we could afford.
“To get a chance to showcase SOLAS on Prime Time TV is really a dream come true.
“What is most incredible about this is that we only opened on the 19 May 2021 – so we are very much in our early stages of development, which makes the whole thing a little bit surreal.”
Maher continued: “The general reaction we got from the Nationwide team on the day of filming and during the post production editing has been extremely positive – I simply can’t wait to see it.
“We really hope we can showcase not just SOLAS but Portarlington and the region is a positive light – as somewhere worth visiting.
“We feel that SOLAS is very much a visual experience so that TV is the ideal format for showcase what we have built and have to offer.
“The fact the show will incorporate not just John Carey and myself but also our staff, our food stall holders, the contractors who made our dream a reality and past employees of Butlers Engineer – this is so positive for promoting local business and a sense of community we striving to foster.”
In the meantime, the attention of SOLAS is turning to tomorrow’s (Saturday September 18 from 10am to 2pm) farmers’ market which we be the largest ever hosted on the site will the stalls taken.
This week will feature an amazing array of Belgian Gourmet chocolate (with over 100 options available), Freshly baked Sour Dough bread from Crean’s bakery, Organic vegetables from the Red Shed and Farmer J’s.
There will be a number of hot food offerings with the Market including Fresh Dutch waffles, Authentic Indian cuisine and fresh omelettes from ‘Houli-HENs’
Also, the craft section expands each week with a number of new artists joining the market for the first time.
Maher concludes: “We also have a number of major artisan food suppliers such as the “Niks teas” (who offer 100 different types of tea) and ‘The Scullery’ who offer a huge range of sauces and relishes – who are dropping by with the hope of joining our market in the coming weeks.
“Our objective is simple and has been the same since day – we want to become the #1 Farmers market in Ireland in terms of quality, range and setting.”
