Brewing bold flavours at Nine Squared
Nine Squared Belfast has recently opened its doors in the Printworks building on Queen Street, marking a significant step forward for the city’s thriving coffee scene.
The new venture brings with it a meticulously curated experience focused on high-quality coffee, bold aesthetics, and a strong emphasis on community. This fresh addition to Belfast’s landscape is the result of the collaborative efforts of Sean McDonnell and Neil Cole, who have merged their respective expertise in coffee craftsmanship and marketing to create a brand that stands apart in the city’s ever-growing coffee culture.
The journey to Belfast: From Newry to the Big City
The idea of expanding Nine Squared into Belfast was something that Sean McDonnell, the founder, had been mulling over for some time. Having successfully built the brand in Newry, Sean saw the potential for a second location. However, he also recognised the need for expertise in scaling the brand, particularly in marketing, to ensure the venture’s success in a new and larger market. That’s when Neil Cole entered the picture.
Neil, a long-time customer of Nine Squared in Newry, shared Sean’s passion for coffee and the unique atmosphere that the brand cultivated. “I was a customer first,” Neil recalls. “I’m convinced there was something in the coffee because I was addicted. Two or three times a day, I’d be in. And it was more than just the product to me; it was the atmosphere, the team, the service. It was a place you wanted to return to.” Neil’s enthusiasm for the brand, combined with his marketing expertise, made him the perfect partner for the next phase of Nine Squared’s journey.
The two of them came together, driven by a shared vision and a complementary skill set. Sean had always been drawn to the hospitality industry, but his journey wasn’t typical. “My family’s been in hospitality for years, but growing up, I saw the sacrifice that comes with running pubs such as long nights; your weekends gone,” he admits. “Coffee was different. It allowed me to be in hospitality but still have a life outside of it. It started as a passion project, but then it became something bigger than I ever expected.”
The decision to expand into Belfast was made with careful consideration. The team initially looked at locations on Royal Avenue, a prime area in the heart of the city. “I stood outside watching the foot traffic, trying to gauge the energy of the area,” Neil explains. “It was a cool building, but something wasn’t clicking. We kept looking, and then we found the Printworks.” The moment they stepped inside the building, they knew they had found their new home. “It was an empty shell. Just a big space and a staircase but we saw the potential immediately. The backdrop, the street, the way the area is being regenerated; it all made sense,” says Neil.
Sean echoes these sentiments, adding, “It was important to be in a location that felt part of the city but still had a bit of a removed, tucked-away feel. Somewhere that people could escape to, but also somewhere that felt connected to the energy of Belfast.”
This location turned out to be perfect, not just for its centrality, but also because it fit with the aesthetic and vibe that Sean and Neil had envisioned for the brand. They could already picture the space coming to life with people enjoying their coffee, chatting, and embracing the community-driven environment that Nine Squared aimed to create.
