restaurant before peony court?

StraddleFor6

Trying to settle an argument here. What was the name of the restaurant at punches cross where the peony court currently stands?

aya14

StraddleFor6 wrote: »

Trying to settle an argument here. What was the name of the restaurant at punches cross where the peony court currently stands?

I dunno Lyonzy but you have too much time on your hands:pac:.
Ken

sioda

Hot rock cafe used to be one in o mara's on the ennis road as well

Berty

It was one of those American style diners at one stage. Damned if I can remember the name.

h3000

Berty wrote: »

It was one of those American style diners at one stage. Damned if I can remember the name.

+1

I remember there used always be an old Ford Thunderbird parked outside the place.




EDIT: What sioda said. (that was beginning to hurt my head)

sioda wrote: »

Hot rock cafe used to be one in o mara's on the ennis road as well

bazz26

Yes it was called the Hot Rock Cafe I think, a bit along the lines of Eddie Ripoffs but better.

StraddleFor6

aya14 wrote: »

I dunno Lyonzy but you have too much time on your hands:pac:.
Ken

You're not wrong Ken.

Hooked

Deffo the Hot Rock Cafe...

God, I remember the ad they had in the old Carlton Cinema before the movie would start... Corny Music and some flat Limerick accent... Come to The Hot Rock cafe, Punch's Cross, where you can enjoy a fab meal, blah blah blah!

God I feel old

billowpiter

no no no no....wrong wrong wrong wrong...Hot Rod Cafe guys, i should know...it was the worst job i ever had, lasted 3 months in that shi*hole

Berty

billowpiter wrote: »

no no no no....wrong wrong wrong wrong...Hot Rod Cafe guys, i should know...it was the worst job i ever had, lasted 3 months in that shi*hole

I have been trying to find pictures of it all day. Any?

I can vaguely remember it. I was fairly young. I cant remember when it was but I must have been young.

Liam Byrne

"The Hot Rock Café
It's a way of life I heard people say
Great food - hot raaaaawk
[can't remember] - hot rawwwwk
Punches Cross / Ennis Road
Lim'riiiiick...."

Kess73

Was there a third restaurant there?

One in the time between the Hot Rock and the Peony Court or maybe it was in the time between it being an Esso and being the Hot Rock?


I can remember back to well before the Hot Rock to when there was an Esso station on that site, and the service station beside it that later became an Esso owned by the Chawkes was known as Dan Ryans.

The Texaco that is now the Ballinacurra car was place was a texaco back then and was the third in a trio of service station in that stretch.

Beside Dan Ryans there was a car sales place belonging to Dan Ryans, which later became Molony's Honda dealership when Honda were still a pretty new brand to Ireland, and there was a bookies and Academy Awards video rental store in besiude Dan Ryans/Chawkes. Things like Four star pizza and a few other companies also had units in there over the years.

Kinda sad to look at that stretch now and see very little where there were once businesses that gave a fair few jobs.

Kess73

Beer Baron wrote: »

I have been trying to find pictures of it all day. Any?

I can vaguely remember it. I was fairly young. I cant remember when it was but I must have been young.

Late 1980's and very early 90's.

SoapMcTavish

The Esso station had an automated carwash, moving brushes but was all in a little "tunnel" at side of station - used to go there every Saturday morning with my dad.
( mid 1970's I'd say ).

Kess73

SoapMcTavish wrote: »

The Esso station had an automated carwash, moving brushes but was all in a little "tunnel" at side of station - used to go there every Saturday morning with my dad.
( mid 1970's I'd say ).

The first Esso station was still there in the early to mid 80's. Then when the station next to it (Dan Ryans/Chawkes) became an Esso they also had a tunnel style car wash for years, and then just after the Honda dealership came in, the car wash tunnel went and it became a standard drive through with a semi circle entrance/exit route.

Another thing that just came to mid was the big swamp and open field area that was where the Greenpark centre/Chadwicks/Lidl are now. There used to be huge billboards directly across from where the Ballinacurra car wash is now, and there were always kids climbing on them.

And behind where the Peony court is now there was a tiny grocery shop that is now the yellow/beige last house on the row of houses. It used to have a great range of penny sweets.

And of course there was the bigger shop in Greenfields which is just walled off scrub land now.

and the main Ballinacurra road had O Maras shop where Crocs barber is now.

JerryHandbag

Nostalgic photo time!





I wonder how much urban sprawl (if any) was around in those days, heading out towards the dooradoyle direction.

Kess73

JerryHandbag wrote: »

Nostalgic photo time!





I wonder how much urban sprawl (if any) was around in those days, heading out towards the dooradoyle direction.

Cool pics.


Well the main Ballinacurra road was pretty much as it is now as many of those house would pre-date those pictures by a fair few decades.

But Ballinacurra gardens is barely 40 years old, and the same goes for Oakview drive, so that was all field and marsh. The area with Lidl/Chadwicks/Greenpark centre was still fields/marsh in the 1980's so that was the same when those pics were taken.

The Crescent shopping centre would not have existed either as it did not open until 1973 . Of course I am guessing that the pics are a little older than 1973 based on some of the car models in them.


Had forgotten that Dan Ryans was a Shell until I saw that pic, and the side of the Esso station can just about be seen in that pic as well. Can remember being over in Limerick one summer when Century Radio were having their launch on the forecourt of Dan Ryans. Think Terry Wogan was the guest there that day. They were giving out loads of free footballs etc, and the radio broadcast was coming from there for the day.

ciog52

It was run by the great Sean (Doc) Doherty before he went on to run Doc's nightclub in The Granary. Never ate there but it was way before its time.

clappyhappy

I remember there used to be a huge tiger sitting on top of the forecourt of the garage,,always wondered how it didn't fly away,was about 9 or 10 then,country kid going into the big city,my god how times have changed

seachto7

clappyhappy wrote: »

I remember there used to be a huge tiger sitting on top of the forecourt of the garage,,always wondered how it didn't fly away,was about 9 or 10 then,country kid going into the big city,my god how times have changed

An English rugby team stole the huge tiger from what I recall...

seachto7

remember the car wash in the crescent....

digitalman

correct me if i am wrong but was the resturant at some stage at peony court
called the denver diner ? i have the name in my head and am convinced it was called that at some stage or was it somewhere else?


anyone remember ? digitalman

Kess73

seachto7 wrote: »

An English rugby team stole the huge tiger from what I recall...

Yeah it was a coach going back to England or Wales. The bus had stopped off on the way back to the ferry port. Some of the lads climbed onto the canopy, and untied a huge orange inflatable tiger, then climbed down with it, spent time getting the air out of it so that it could fit on the bus, and then brought it home with them.

How they were not spotted is beyond me as those Esso canopy tigers were bloody massive

Kess73

digitalman wrote: »

correct me if i am wrong but was the resturant at some stage at peony court
called the denver diner ? i have the name in my head and am convinced it was called that at some stage or was it somewhere else?


anyone remember ? digitalman

That name does ring a bell. Might be why I was thinking there were three eateries on that site after the service station closed.

shannon2012

Hi,

Mr. Munch restaurant was there before the cafe. I don't know what year though.

Shannon

Poxyshamrock

digitalman wrote: »

correct me if i am wrong but was the resturant at some stage at peony court
called the denver diner ? i have the name in my head and am convinced it was called that at some stage or was it somewhere else?


anyone remember ? digitalman

The Denver Diner was where Supermac's in Roxboro is now.

Kess73

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

The Denver Diner was where Supermac's in Roxboro is now.

That's why the name was familar then.

bullets

I remember the Esso station (I think) that site gained a reputation over
the years of having businesses open only to fail and close.

Shortly after the Hard Rock Cafe I think there was a good few Retro like
Arcade machine and pinball yokes that were in storage on site for a few years.
I remember my father at the time being a refrigeration engineer servicing the
peony court and he found a ton of stuff left over from the hard rock cage in storage (a retro collectors wet dream if anyone only knew)

~B