Neven with his wife Amelda
GOOD NEWS for fans of Neven Maguire in Blacklion. A major £1m extension to his McNean Restaurant will create more dining room and help cater for the huge demand for his fine food.revealed plans for a £1m extension and, at the same time, voiced his fears at Brexit.
The £1m refurbishment will add up to six more tables to the 14-table dining room and it will increase the number of guestrooms from 19 to 25.
At present, weekend sittings are all but booked for the next two years but, as Neven explained, that does not rule out shorter waits.
“There’s always a waiting list and, although we now take bookings two years in advance, it doesn’t mean people won’t get in because we do get a lot of cancellations.”
He said the expansion would mean he can take more people on but, in saying that, ‘it’s not a massive expansion’ as he did not want the restaurant to lose the personal and intimate feel.
On the downside was his dread at the possible return of a Customs Post, a familiar sight in Blacklion, yards from ‘Mac Nean’.
Disaster
“I think it could be a disaster for us if border controls came back. As things stand, the border is completely open now, and that’s great for the business.
“A lot of our staff – he employs 60-strong workforce – come from up the road in Fermanagh, and we get a lot of customers who travel down from Belfast and other parts of the North to have dinner and stay over.”
Mr Maguire said he would be ‘keeping a watchful eye’ on the implications of Brexit once the British Prime Minister, Teresa May triggered Article 50 to set the ball rolling.
In the meantime, having enjoyed a well-deserved six-day Christmas break with his wife, Amanda (a native of Monea) and the twins, Connor and Lucia, it’s back to business for the ever-cheery 43 year old native of Cavan.
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