The Forge Restaurant, Kilbride Cross, Co Carlow, R93 PC64

The Forge Restaurant, Kilbride Cross, Co. Carlow has come on the market. This attractive 18th Century building awaits a suitable buyer eager to own a business with accommodation included. The present owners carefully restored the building and ran a very successful business for seventeen years with a name for quality food and hospitality.

It is located off the N80 between the busy village of Ballon Co. Carlow and the town of Bunclody Co. Wexford. Altamont Gardens with a footfall of 80,000 visitors are 2km away, the passing traffic from Rosslare to the west, and the popular rural area from Mount Leinster to the River Slaney generate a lot of activity.
The living area consists of a domestic kitchen, living room with a stove, sitting room with a fireplace and office space. Upstairs has three bedrooms with toilet and shower room and hot press.
Oil fired central heating with a modern grant boiler is in place.
The commercial port of the building has an attractive function room which was once the actual forge with granite wall on one side, a stove and hanging space for artwork. This makes this space multi-functional for 35 to 40 people.
It can be used for any purpose, catering to classroom.
Reception area is on the flat, wheelchair friendly toilets plus baby changing area makes the place very customer friendly. There is an outdoor patio area with Liscannonor slate.

In 2008 there was a large catering kitchen built fully HACCP compliant with three phase electricity and a 1 x ½ ton flogas tank, A cold room, W.C. This unit has easy delivery access, a Rationale oven, baking area, kitchen suits catering, food production, i.e: cheese making, baking, honey, preserves and local artisan foods. Home baking and local produce' was the hall mark of The Forge.

The barn which stores the boiler, garden, equipment and utilities comes with an architect drawing for development, which had planning permission obtained in 2008. The owner was a keen gardener and enjoyed planting herbaceous beds, native trees, herbs, which gives the place very pleasant environmental friendly surroundings.

The Forge Kilbride from the days of the Murphy family when horses were shod, gates made, plus bacon, ice cream, tea etc in the shop, to the present owners, it was a meeting place.