BWG plans four Irish foodservice openings and over 100 jobs

BWG Foods is expanding its Irish foodservice business with four locations in Dublin, Carlow and Limerick, creating more than 100 jobs. The programme includes a recently opened food hall in Citywest and three further locations due to open by the end of 2026, forming part of a longer-term growth plan involving local franchise partners.

Where the new locations are opening

The first location in the programme is the newly opened Oasis of Taste Food Hall at Citywest Shopping Centre. It is the group’s fourth food hall in Dublin, adding to its presence in the capital.

Three new O’Briens Café and Bagel Factory locations are also scheduled to open before the end of the year. These are planned for Smithfield in Dublin, Carlow Town and Limerick City. The Smithfield opening is described as a standalone location.

Together, the four locations give the expansion a footprint across both Dublin and regional urban centres. The announcement covers four sites in total, rather than four openings for each of the brands involved.

RTÉ’s report on 15 September put the number of new jobs at more than 100. The roles relate to the four-location programme; the supplied reports do not provide a breakdown of employment by site or specify exact opening dates for the three forthcoming locations.

Expansion follows BWG’s acquisition

The openings follow BWG’s entry into the quick-service restaurant business earlier in summer 2026 through the acquisition of a portfolio including O’Briens Café, Abrakebabra, Bagel Factory and Oasis of Taste Food Hall.

That portfolio brings several foodservice brands within the group’s expansion plans. However, although Abrakebabra is part of the acquired business, the four-site announcement identifies the Citywest food hall and the three O’Briens Café and Bagel Factory locations. It does not identify a separate new Abrakebabra outlet within this programme.

According to Travel Extra’s report on 19 September, combined annual sales across the four brands are projected to exceed €50 million. That figure refers to the brand portfolio, not to expected sales from the four new locations alone.

The distinction matters when assessing the scale of the announcement. The projected sales figure describes the wider business, while the opening programme sets out its next named additions. Neither a sales forecast for individual new outlets nor site-level investment figures are provided in the research.

Local partners central to the 2030 plan

The four-location programme supports a broader ambition to add 25 new locations by 2030. BWG’s approach involves partnering with local entrepreneurs and expanding its existing roster of more than 50 franchisee partners nationwide.

The current franchised network already employs more than 1,200 people, according to Travel Extra. The newly announced jobs therefore sit alongside an established network of franchise partners and employees, rather than marking the launch of a franchise operation from scratch.

Checkout’s report on 16 September describes the wider foodservice growth strategy as focused on identifying franchise opportunities in strong local and secondary locations. The named openings show that the immediate programme is not confined to Dublin, with Carlow Town and Limerick City also included.

For Ireland’s franchise community, the local-partner element is a significant part of this story. BWG has linked its longer-term expansion to entrepreneurs, while setting out a numerical target for additional locations. The reports do not, however, list the remaining prospective sites or provide a year-by-year opening schedule through to 2030.

What prospective franchise partners should check

The announcement offers a clear indication of BWG’s intended direction, but it is not a detailed franchise prospectus. The research does not set out entry costs, franchise fees, territory availability or the ownership arrangements for each newly announced site.

Anyone considering an opportunity should distinguish the confirmed location programme from the broader growth target. Citywest is already open; Smithfield, Carlow Town and Limerick City are scheduled for completion by year-end. The 25-location ambition extends to 2030 and should not be read as a list of sites already secured.

Practical takeaway: prospective partners should ask BWG about available locations, investment requirements and operating support, and assess each opportunity on its own costs and local demand rather than the portfolio-wide sales projection.