Cosgrove & Son Delicatessen – “Getting the customers what they are looking for!”
“I’m most proud of the shop having survived so long, through wars and recessions.!” says Michael Cosgrove junior.
On the 19th of November 2020 to the delight of many customers Cosgrove & Son Delicatessen in Sligo launched their new website and first online shop. “Given the times we are living through we thought it is more important than ever to ensure that our fine food products make it from our door to yours”, read a statement. And what a mouth-watering eleven pages of foods they offer! Naturally, shopping food online cannot compensate for stepping into the shop in Market Street and experiencing a nirwana of smells, flavours and scents from all around the world.
A guest on one of our Sligo Food Tours in 2019 summed it up: “This is ‘a storybook place’ where to step through the doors brings one back to a time when shops were simply part and parcel of a community and not just part and parcel of commerce.”
How did you cope with the restrictions posed by the current pandemic, we ask Michael Cosgrove junior? “We were lucky enough to be able to remain open and now serve customers from the doorstep. This has worked out very well and our customers have been very understanding. We also set up a new website and offer local delivery”.
A Sligo Institution – often ahead of it’s time
Cosgroves & Son is a Sligo institution, opened by Michael Cosgrove senior in 1898 as Erin restaurant, a traditional eating and lodging house with a small shop on the premises. Cosgroves quickly became known for it’s selection of confectionary and cooked meats.
Michael senior was the first to introduce ice-cream to Sligo in the 1920’s. “This wasn’t quite like the ice-cream we know today; it was a custard based ice-cream, kept covered and cool on the flag stone floors in the shop before we had our commercial fridges. It was available only in vanilla and very popular among the people of Sligo.” fourth generation Sarah Cosgrove tells us.
“Kevin Cosgrove was creating a culture - not just a shop”,
wrote a customer when nominating Cosgrove & Son for the Best Shop in Ireland competition in 2013. When son Kevin returned to the family business in 1955, the decision was made to close the restaurant and expand the shop. Kevin Cosgrove was very much ahead of his time, innovative and far seeing, and together with his wife Mary Guihen saw the potential to introduce a wonderful delicatessen to Sligo long before the word ever became operative in this region.
Back in the days Mary was also the woman behind the salads, home-made bread and she cooked the hams! “A fact she is still proud of today”, Sarah tells us. Like his father, who had been the first to sell ice cream locally, Kevin was in fact the first to introduce yoghurt to Sligo.
When Ireland joined the EU in 1973 Cosgrove & Son took full advantage of the opportunity to source from countless countries. During this era, Cosgroves became the only shop in Sligo to sell some now well-known products such as Sauerkraut, gherkins, pumpernickel bread, Italian pasta, chorizo, paté and much more. Kevin and Mary’s cooked meats and traditional salads proved very popular and Kevin’s son, Michael, still provides them to this day.
“Delicatessen: a shop selling cooked meats, cheeses, and unusual or foreign prepared foods.” (Oxford dictionary)
Michael Cosgrove junior is behind the traditional granite top counter six days a week, ably supported by Pauline, his trusted assistant of fifteen years! Michael’s children Richard and Sarah are the fourth generation of Cosgrove & Son, supporting the shop.
When asked, what he is most proud of about Cosgroves Delicatessn, Michael says: “I’m most proud of the shop having survived so long, through wars and recessions. The amount of hard work that has gone into the store through the generations is definitely something to be proud of!”
From Parma Ham to Carrigeen Moss, Irish Cheeses to Rice Pasta and coconut milk, Cosgroves is unique in offering local and international foods. One of the interesting shopping experiences in Sligo is, that when a shop hasn’t got the food or ingredient that you want, the shopkeeper most likely will tell you, “try Cosgroves!” Michael’s philosophy when sourcing food is simple: “I always source good quality and I always want to sell the best.”
When we ask Michael for his best sellers at present, he smiles and after a thoughtful pause says: “There are lots! Too many to mention, but our own traditionally homecooked ham and home cooked salads are as popular as ever. We also have an organic Irish cheese from Birr, Co. Offaly which is relatively new to our counter and is a growing favourite.”
Michael, Pauline, Sarah and Richard love what they do and Michael sums it up when saying: “Running a delicatessen is not necessarily a challenge, because I always enjoy researching the latest food trends and ensuring I can get the customers what they are looking for!”
Here we have Michael Cosgrove jun. uncovered
What is your favourite food? Homemade pizza with all of Cosgrove’s best pizza toppings! The key to good pizza is a pizza stone.
Finish the sentence: A shopkeeper is someone who is committed to their customers in a changing world.
The country you travel for food: All over the world. I love to travel. But France has to be the favourite so far for food.
Three things you always have in your larder/fridge? A good olive oil, cooking chorizo and quality garlic.
What is your most used gadget? A mortar and pestle
Do you read food books and which one do you come back to? Rick Stein, every time and all of them.
Who is your inspiration (not necessarily from the food): My mother, Mary Cosgrove. She was a fantastic cook. I fondly remember her roast chicken and homemade bread sauce.
What are you currently listening to? Planxty – Billy Gray
Something people don’t know about you? My favourite film is the Sound of Music
What will be hot in 2021? Fabulous ingredients for home cooking!
