An East Belfast cafe and lunch bar which has won awards at both the NI Takeaway Awards and the All-Ireland YesChef Awards has said that community is at the heart of their successful business.
Greenway9 is located in the heart of the Cregagh Estate.
The cafe opened its door in March 2020, right before Covid struck, but in a short space of time has found itself receiving multiple awards.
Greenway9 was Highly Commended in the Cafe/Deli section at the NI Takeaway Awards in 2021, while owner Megan won General Manager of the Year.
More recently, the lunch bar received an All-Ireland award for Highly Commended Cafe at the YesChef Awards in Athlone.
Megan Hamilton, who started the business with her partner, chef Jonathan McCreery, said that the last two years have been a whirlwind.
She told Belfast Live: "Me and my partner decided to open up Greenway9 two years ago. We quit both our jobs and opened up on the March 2, then Covid hit three weeks later!
"So the business got off to a strange start. We didn't know where anything was going to go, but we went from strength to strength. We won the Cafe/Deli award at the NI Takeaway Awards last year, then the YesChef All Ireland Awards on Monday, so it's an incredible achievement."
Megan said that everything they do at Greenway9 is geared towards helping in the local area.
"We've had such amazing support from the community here in Cregagh," she said.
"I grew up working on the row of shops I'm operating the cafe out of now, so the community knows me and I know them. In the last few weeks, we've been doing a cookery course for the local community - the Clonduff Community Youth Club for teenage boys. My partner is a chef by trade, so he was able to show them the tricks of the trade. We want to get them to do hands on work."
Asked what she thought led to them winning their Award, Megan said that it comes back to how they started to the business for those in the community.
"We're community based, and we're affordable. You go to some sandwich shops these days and the prices are ridiculous, whereas our basic sandwich is £4. Then we do soup or a stew with a filled Belfast Bap for £6.50, with a drink. It's quality food as well. Everything's fresh. Our bread comes from French Village, which is right round the corner. We know our community and want people from all parts of the community to come in and enjoy their lunch.
"Then at Christmas time we did Christmas dinner-filled Belfast baps. Last year, with lockdown, we helped with delivering 100 Christmas dinners to pensioners, alongside the Pride of the Raven Flute Band. Those Christmas dinner Belfast baps are very popular and we love doing them and getting them out to people."
*This article has been updated to include a correction and add the fact that Saints N Sinners were the winners of Best Overall Takeaway and Best Cafe Takeaway at the NI Takeaway Awards in 2021.
