Street food fans in for a treat at new Derry market
Fans of street food in Derry are set for a treat with the opening of the new Clipper Quay Street Food Market.
The venture will initially see see six vendors under the one roof for the first time and the intention is intention is for the opening to coincide with the Foyle Maritime Festival which is expected to attract 150,000 visitors to the quay for events and activities.
The street food scene in the city has grown rapidly over recent years with Pyke ‘n’ Pommes leading the way.
Eoghan Devine and Jessie Walton, joint owners of the Bee Eaters street food van based at the Bay Road in the city, are among the six businesses that will be part of the official launch party on July 5 and 6.
Eoghan, who started out as a kitchen porter at BRØN café in the city centre where Jessie was the head chef, said “After I got some training we decided to go out ourselves and bought a wee truck.
“We originally opened at Lisnagelvin (in the Waterside area of the city) in April 2023 before moving to the Bay Road in September and that’s when we really took off.
“There has been a massive difference, we got a nice spot down there with a coffee truck beside us.
“Social media, Instagram has helped, we got a decent following and we would get a lot of people who found out about us through there. And we take pre-orders and phone orders.”
They are happy to be part of a thriving food scene in Derry.
“The food market sounds like a great idea,” Eoghan said, “and it’s going to be all local businesses in there.
“They wanted to go for something like the Common Market in Belfast.
“We approached last year about the project and then after Christmas they had formulated more of a plan and I said ‘yes’ because it sounded like a great idea.”
Bee Eaters intend on retaining their Bay Road location and to expand the business by opening in the new food market along the riverfront.
“The 27th of June is the opening day, the same day as the Maritime Festival. The quay is very, very busy then so we want to be open then to have a good start,” Eoghan said.
