The Final Countdown

After almost two decades on Chatham Street, our tenure will finish next week, and we are beyond ecstatic to be moving to one of Dublin's most iconic and oldest buildings. Built in 1880, The Corkscrew Wine & Spirit Merchants will be taking up residence in the old Dublin Corporation Weights and Measures building on 4 Harry Street, formerly one of Ireland's top wine shops (among other things) Berry Bros & Rudd. As you can probably tell, this is a huge milestone for us, and we feel this was destined to be. Over the last 15 years, many other retailers have operated out of here and put their own stamp on it, but we are now in the process of returning this iconic building and its fabulous cellar (we're really excited about the cellar) to its former glory, and we have enormous plans to expand the business. We thought you might like an update on our journey so far...

On February 7th an Instagram post featuring a set of keys turned many heads and created great hype. On this day, Paul and his family collected the new keys and had their first walk around the "new building". Formalities prevented us from divulging any more information on the day. However, there was great excitement all around. This was the beginning of a great new adventure. We couldn't wait to get in and reveal some of the stunning brickwork and a fireplace we knew was covered up, and we were almost hysterical at the thought of getting down into the basement, which will soon be the best wine cellar in the Country.

Our trip down to the basement left us under no illusion that if this was to become the best wine cellar in the Country we really had our work cut out for us. It appeared as if it had been neglected for many years and had been used for storage and graffiti purposes. The original beautiful brickwork we once remembered had also been concealed. With the regeneration project in the area underway and the arrival of so many prestigious brands, our refurbishment was not going to be a job for the faint-hearted.

The ramble around the rest of the building was a little more uplifting with gorgeous views of The Westbury Hotel and Bruxelles, and we discovered it was an excellent spot for people-watching. It was still going to be a long road to transform this building back to its former glory and into a destination wine shop. However, we would have to wait until April 4th before we got too ahead of ourselves, and until then, keep everything crossed that nobody would object to the planning permission.

The weeks seemed to drag by, and even though we knew we would be moving, we still couldn't say to where, we celebrated our last Birthday on Chatham Street with a weight on our shoulders, a wait that was like a form of torture we had never experienced before, but finally almost 2 weeks later we received the go-ahead!

A couple of subtle hints were dropped along the way, but it wasn't until May 17th that we were publicly able to reveal our new location. At this stage we had spent many hours with the incredible architect Garret O Neill discussing our dreams and visions for this iconic building, and as luck would have it, in no time at all, we found the perfect candidates for our refurb on our doorstep. Pure Fitout is literally a couple of floors above the current Corkscrew and what they have managed to do in such a short space of time is mind blowing. Gutting and clearing the building commenced the week of June 5th, and to highlight what a tremendous job has been done so far, check out what the basement looks like now!!

With its stunning high black ceiling and original brickwork, our basement will soon be the most state-of-the-art wine cellar in town. We also intend to use it for private tastings, viewings will be on request only. Rumour has it that behind the arches are old tunnels through the city.

Last week, a lick of paint behind closed curtains miraculously transformed the place, we were relieved to have seen the last of the artwork that had been displayed on the back wall (picture 1) for so long, and the dark ceilings added some warmth and class to the place.

This week our units arrived, and the fitout began; we are starting to resemble a mighty fine shop!! We shared these images on our socials yesterday and did warn that it was our last preview. Considering the phenomenal progress in just a few weeks, we are confident that this day next week, when we open our doors, we'll fit in nicely with the other prestige brands in the locality! There's just the tiny detail of electrics, plumbing and WiFi to sort out. The only question remaining now is where we will put the superb selection of premium spirits that we will soon have....