New Blanchardstown Shopping Center 2021 Updates?

They reopened in Dundrum a while back. I was hoping they would've reopened in Blanch too.

Not sure if they have other restaurants left in Ireland

The parent firm pulled the franchise from the smoking ruins of Press Up, and immediately signed a lease to reopen (in a different unit I think, cause they didn't hold the lease, Press Up did) in Dundrum. The others, I think three - Blanch, SSG, Cork - shut.

Press Up's successor Eclective have opened a knock off pan-Asian called Kaldero in the SSG unit.

Aload more fencing gone in outside the library and the Eddie / McDonalds entrance. Works on that entrance must be starting next week.

There is a wagamama in liffey valley

three years. Not a good innings on a big store investment like this

wasn’t in Blanchardstown for a while but it’s not high end retail so this was not a good fit for the market there. It’s a decent middle of the road shopping centre but not Grafton street, Kildare village or dundrum

Green light for Leisureplex Blanchardstown being turned into large retailer despite opposition https://jrnl.ie/6968486

I think this is a disappointing outcome. There are already well over 100 or maybe 200 retail stores in the SC and retail parks. A leisure complex provided a better and more diverse mix to the area for the catchment population.

this is such a shame, part of the original planing for the center was that it would provide a mixed use facilities for all ages. This is now pretty much dropped.

This was a great facility for families and teenagers. For people in their early teens there is very little for them to do and develop socially in an independent manner. Bowling and pool are two of very few non electronic activities they can do themselves to pass time.

Leisureplex have been going down in the last number of years, the place is dead Monday- Friday so obviously not viable. I’m local to the area and have heard Penneys are moving to that space, but I think food outlets similar to Liffey valley would make a lot more sense

Re Popeyes https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2026/0302/1561181-first-popeyes-irish-restaurant-set-to-open-in-dublin/

In a way, is it probably the least attractive end of the SC for a fast food restaurant that relies just as much on evening trade as day time trade? I'd imagine it gets the least amount of footfall from its target customer base (younger people) at that side. People doing their weekly grocery shop in Dunnes nearby are unlikely to want a Popeyes meal before or after their big food shop.

Rituals moving over to where FatFace was

They had a sale recently that they said was for renovations so I presume it'll be back

I've heard that there's a plan to eventually replace the Leisureplex with a new entertainment "district" on the yellow car park. The small units like the Credit Union and Post Office will move to the base of the apartment blocks going above the Blue carpark and opposite. That block and the cinema will then be demolished with 2 levels of underground parking and the extension above. The current cinema entrance in the blue mall will connect to the existing yellow mall entrance to form a circle with a new yellow entrance at the bus terminus. The entertainment will sit above this, including the new cinema and an "anchor" attraction. There's talks with Legoland Discovery Centre apparently because they've been looking for a Dublin location.

They've just started moving the taxi rank to start the blue mall extension and the apartments on the library car park will be after that so the Leisureplex closing before planning permission has gone in might seem a little premature but there's a retailer (apparently The Range) that have been looking for a space and a situation with the current operators meant the timing was right.

Also seems there's been strong interest in the new restaurant units with some that have never been to Ireland before including Shake Shack and Popeyes (which is going to the green entrance and might move later) and some that have arrived in the last few years.

Completely unrelated, there's a furniture shop going in where McQuillans was in Westend, most likely EZ Living Interiors which isn't the same as EZ Living Furniture they already have in the other retail park.