Charlie Chawke’s contentious Box’d Coffee outdoor cafe outside his Goat Bar and Grill in Goatstown has generated revenues of €478,191 over two years.
New accounts for the operator of the Goat Bar and Grill, Mr Chawke’s Charjon Investments Ltd show that the firm recorded after tax profits of €51,771 in the 12 months to the end of March last.
Revenues at the company decreased last year by 2 per cent to €4.42 million. While Goat Bar and Grill sales increased marginally to €4.24 million, revenue from Box’d Coffee almost halved from €300,734 to €177,457 last year.
Mr Chawke established Box’d Coffee during the pandemic but last year, Mr Chawke lost his battle to secure planning retention for the coffee business at the Goat which involves an outdoor cafe in a repurposed shipping container and a range of ancillary elements at the site outside the pub.
This followed An Bord Pleanala refusing planning retention for Box’d Coffee and outdoor seating along with signage and a series of ancillary elements providing outdoor entertainment for pub customers including a large outdoor TV screen at The Goat.
However, Mr Chawke is now making a fresh bid to secure planning retention with a published planning notice confirming that a new planning retention application will be lodged in the coming days with An Bord Pleanala for the re-purposed shipping container housing the coffee shop
In its January 2024 decision, the board shared the view of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Co Council that the cumulative effect of the development would create a disorderly street-scape and would have a negative impact on the amenity of the local area.
The planning inspector in the case, Lorraine Dockery, had recommended permission for Box’d Coffee where having visited the site, she was of the opinion that the impacts of the repurposed shipping container for use as a café/coffee on the visual amenity of the area “would not be so great as to warrant a refusal of permission”.
Speaking after the council refused a planning retention application for Box’d Coffee in 2022, Mr Chawke said: “We are in business to give a service and to give employment and that is what we are trying to do and I wish to God that we would be allowed to do it.”
Numbers employed by Charjon increased by two to 78 as staff costs increased slightly to €2.06 million. Accumulated profits totalled €2.96 million.
