Jacob Long and Jack Brennan, the founders of grilled cheese go-to Griolladh, recently raised over €10,000 with a charity walk in aid of The Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless People. In celebration of a very successful first year in business, the guys walked 45km from their seafront Griolladh in Bray, to Malahide, the site of their first Griolladh food truck. Yesterday, Griolladh added a 6th location – in Dundrum, Co Dublin.
Donations were made online and a percentage of Griolladh sales that week were donated, with Griolladh also matching the amounts donated in the collection boxes at each of their 5 locations!
Jack Brennan said: "What a day for our first birthday! It was BAKING hot, even from 8am in the morning when we started out in Bray. The first couple of hours were grand and we kept a good pace - but the last 7km were tough. Our legs were stiff, we were getting tired and ready for a sambo! Luckily, we had plenty of support throughout the whole walk and people were coming to meet us at different pit stops along the way. Delighted to have done our bit and to have raised over €10k for Capuchin Day Centre - a big thank you to everyone who showed us support!"
Griolladh, the history: From a quickly converted trailer in a garden in Malahide, the lockdown inspired ‘Griolladh’ grilled cheese food truck now operates in 6 permanent locations across Dublin, with a staff of 40 and further openings planned.
With a passion for simple good food, using the best ingredients, Jacob Long and Jack Brennan turned furlough from their hospitality jobs into an exciting new food business. Quickly realising that office workers now based at home would have an appetite for something different, Griolladh was created to offer superb grilled cheese sandwiches, top class coffee and great pastries.
Griolladh is now available in Malahide at Moyvil Coast Road, Bray at Beachpark, The Strand, Carrickmines Retail Park, Eatyard at Crossguns, Phibsboro and is due to open in Dundrum in July. With a production kitchen for prep, Griolladh is now on the lookout for more permanent premises.
“Griolladh started as a food truck concept, but along the way we’ve popped up in more permanent locations such as The Globe, Hop House in Open Gate Brewery and Zanzibar Locke,” said Jacob. “With being on the road, constantly expanding, popping up and then locking down again, it has been a challenging but exciting year. Pretty unprecedented times, but we definitely want to set down in a bricks and mortar set up soon!”
The perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich is at the heart of the success of Griolladh. Using the best ingredients available, such as Tartine sourdough bread, the team cook and prep all the sandwich elements from scratch, including the meats, sauces and fillings. Even the pastries are baked in-house. Food lovers Jack and Jacob knew to pay extra attention to every aspect – going so far as to create their own mix of smoked hocks, gammon and bacon collar to deliver the very best ham sandwich.
The menu is always on the move too! Under the guidance of kitchen team leader Alison Tierney, Griolladh now offers breakfast, baked goods, sausage rolls, and other indulgent treats. This is good mood food inspired by the very direct feedback you get when you’re serving from a good truck! You can now personalise your Griolladh sandwich in a myriad of ways, creating new favourites that keep customers coming back.
For Griolladh locations and hours see Griolladh's Social Media channels: Insta: @Griolladh Twitter: @Griolladh
Facebook: Griolladh
About Jack and Jacob
Jacob Long and Jack Brennan have both worked in the hospitality industry for the past 14 years. They have managed some of the best venues in Dublin including Xico, NoLita, Opium, Brookwood & The Well. Jack started his career working in the Wright Venue and then moved on working in city centre bars such as 37 and Xico. His focus has always been on the nightlife scene and getting the people of Dublin partying until the early hour. Jack is a man about town. Jacob’s first passion is food and began his career in the service industry managing a mexican restaurant in Malahide, and then moved into Dublin city centre and managed the steakhouse Brookwood.
He moved on to manage The Oak, NoLita, Opium and The Well. Developing his skills in every aspect of hospitality and business.
If you haven't has the pleasure of a Griolladh sambo yet, now is the perfect time to give them a visit!
Slán go fóill,
Danny