Yellow Door cooks up 20 new jobs

Yellow Door chef Phil Rodgers was in for a surprise when Ulster Rugby squad players Niall Annett (left) and Robbie Diack (right) popped in to lend a hand in the kitchen at the new Yellow Door Restaurant at Belfast Furniture Mall.

Yellow Door has created 20 new jobs with the opening of the Yellow Door restaurant at Belfast Furniture Mall, located in south Belfast’s booming Balmoral Plaza.

The investment marks the latest growth for this multi-award-winning outside catering company which specialists in deli retail outlets and artisan breads.

“In addition to our retail deli outlets in Portadown, Lisburn and Belfast, we opened a restaurant at the Ulster Museum in 2012 and in the same year, moved our bakery to new and larger bespoke premises at Bleary, near Portadown,”said Yellow Door director, Andrew Dougan.

“We deliver fresh bread daily to customers in Belfast and Dublin and recently won a contract with the potential to produce in excess of half a million bread items and tray bakes annually for a company supplying Dublin airport and hospitals.”

Yellow Door is a family business, started up by County Armagh chef Simon Dougan in 1992. From a fine dining restaurant in Gilford, the Yellow Door brand has expanded into a growing group of companies employing close to 150 people in full and part time positions, with an expected turnover this year of £5m.

The 60,000 sq ft Belfast Furniture Mall was formerly home to Fulton’s fine furnishings company, and with the acquisition of the former restaurant area, Yellow Door aims to introduce the latest trend to Belfast foodies – California-style dining, which focuses on sharing plates and family-style dining.

Simon’s cousin, Andrew Dougan, a director of the business, says one of the keys to the company’s success lies in a firm ethos of using quality Northern Irish produce.

“We have many outstanding producers here whom we are proud to promote. Yellow Door aims to be at the heart of the community with a strong farm-to-table focus, and an emphasis on exceptionally flavoursome, seasonal food, cooked and presented in a variety of exciting dishes to match today’s evolving palettes.”

Commenting on the expansion, he added: “Like everyone else, our business suffered during the recession, with the corporate catering side of the operation plunging by 80 per cent as clients had to tighten their belts. But we always had faith in the Yellow Door brand and not only managed to keep going and absorb the loss, but even expanded the company during that time.

“With the current upturn in the economy, we have now regained most of the ground we lost and 2014 should see our corporate catering business spring back up to pre-recession levels as companies start to re-engage more with their customers.

“The wedding catering business has always maintained a steady demand and volume and this year we’re looking at a 10 per cent growth.”