New €15m Kildare service area opens today
Staff members celebrate the opening of Applegreen’s new €15 million Naas site Applegreen opened its new €15 million roadside service area close to the Naas Ball at Junction 9 on the M7 today. PHOTO - AISHLING CONWAY
TODAY marks the highly anticipated opening of the new €15 million Applegreen roadside service area, which began in the very early hours of the morning with customers queueing from 3am for the first look at the new offerings.
The service station is located opposite Naas Ball at Junction 9 on the M7, and includes Popeyes and Taco Bell outlets, M&S Food, Crafted Kitchen & Deli, Braeburn Coffee, and an Applegreen forecourt and convenience store.
The new development has created 150 new jobs at the site.
The new Applegreen service station opened at 9.30am, more than six hours after customers began queuing. Customers braved the waiting times for a chance to avail of special opening day offers such as free chicken sandwiches for a year and free burritos for a year.
The Popeyes outlet in Naas is the first Popeyes Drive-Thru in the Republic of Ireland. Applegreen has said it will open additional Drive-Thru brand at its new Naas site later this year.
The site will also have eight Applegreen Fast Charge ultra-fast EV chargers with a total of 16 charging points, and a separate truck stop for HGV fuelling.
“We’re thrilled to have opened our new service area in Naas, and we were delighted to welcome so many customers this morning,” said Seamus Stapleton, Managing Director of Applegreen’s Republic of Ireland business.
Three customers were rewarded with free Popeyes Chicken Sandwiches for a year, while three customers received free Taco Bell Burrito Meals for a year. Hundreds of customers also availed of free food from Popeyes, Taco Bell and Crafted Kitchen & Deli. There was free merchandise available for customers.
Popeyes provided entertainment for customers on the opening day, with a brass band in the morning and a DJ in the afternoon.
The new Naas site is the second major new services area that Applegreen has opened in Ireland in the past 12 months. Last September, it launched a new €15 million site at Junction 6 on the M3 in Dunshaughlin, Co Meath.
Over the past 12 months, Applegreen has introduced both Popeyes and Taco Bell to its Irish operations. Applegreen has also continued to expand the reach of its partnership with M&S Food, which is now available at 43 Applegreen locations, and is also growing both its Braeburn Coffee brand and its Crafted Kitchen & Deli offer.
Applegreen, which is one of Ireland’s best known retail brands, is currently investing €1 billion to grow its operations in Ireland, the UK and the United States. It is adding new locations in all of its markets through developing and acquiring new sites and it is also continuing to upgrade and improve its existing network.
