On May 12th, 2017, Ass Monkey and I accidentally opened up a delicatessen.

I mean, we had planned to do it, we’d talked and dreamed about it for years. But were we really prepared to open a deli for the first time?

Were we fuck.

At 7am on that Friday morning, we opened the doors and had NO IDEA what was to come.

People queued up and down Rush Main Street for breakfasts, lunches, coffees and cake and we hadn’t entirely anticipated their arrival.

By 8am we had to ask Hulda, the Head Barista from Two Spots Coffee to jump in and give us a hand – she ended up staying for three whole hours. (Thanks Hulda, we love you)

Then we ran out of bread. I mean, our main service is to make effing sandwiches and we ran out of bread!

By lunchtime, we ran out of cake. CAKE! FFS!

Our little deli had been so sorely needed in our hometown for years that almost everyone who lives there came down for a look and to support – we were happy to see them, of course, but we had serious trouble feeding them fast enough!

Well. What a day! Thanks so much to everyone who bought a coffee, brought a card, gave us a smile, brought their kids in to say hi, issued high fives and sampled our menu 👏🏻 We couldn’t be happier with our very first day in business and love that our town of Rush is the place we built it 💪🏻 All that said.. this little lady was my favourite customer of the day 💕 Her big brother was on a play date so we’ll catch him another day 😂 See you all in the morning from 8am for more great coffee, all day breakfast, sweet treats & big (tired but) happy heads 😘

A post shared by Skinny Batch (@skinnybatchdeli) on May 12, 2017 at 1:34pm PDT

That first month was crazy and we learned a lot on the fly – how to properly run a food and coffee house, how to develop the brand and menu, listening to our customers’ s requests and adjusting accordingly, figuring out our staff and stock levels..

..it has been one HELL of a journey so far.

I would say that opening a new business isn’t unlike having a newborn – you are like a deer caught in the headlights for the first couple of months, trying to incorporate this new energy into your life and settling on a rhythm and routine that works for you and the rest of your family.

There may also have been a few sleepless nights of worry – the usual!

There are some great Opening Weekend pics coming through! ✨ Keep on sending them through to us x

A post shared by Skinny Batch (@skinnybatchdeli) on May 13, 2017 at 12:04am PDT

We can now breathe a bit, knowing that we’ve survived the tough part – from here on out it’s just making sure that our little place continues to serve the community of Rush and beyond to the best of our abilities.

And to churn out cake. Lots and lots of cake ;o)

Anyone say cake?? Well we have it all here👏🏻👏🏻 ✨Cupcakes large and small 🤗🤗 ✨Gluten free carrot cake & chocolate almond cake🤗 ✨Flapjacks ✨Brownies ✨Scones ✨Luxury fruit loaf ✨Banana bread🍌 ✨All day breakfast👍🏻 ✨Salad boxes ✨BBQ Pulled Pork. ✨Superfood Salad Wrap ✨Falafel Salad Wrap ✨Breaded Chicken Fillet ✨Pancakes ✨Smoothies 🍍🍌🍏🍓 #rush #hellaskitchendublin #healthyfood #salad #deli #@two_spots_coffee #hellaskitchendublin

A post shared by Skinny Batch (@skinnybatchdeli) on Jul 19, 2017 at 2:54am PDT

(Check out our website here and come say Hi some day! x)