Applegreen Rathcoole, Co Dublin, Ireland
Applegreen Rathcoole, is a 40-minute drive from central Dublin, located on the N7, a national primary road in Ireland, connecting Limerick and Dublin. The site caters to early risers, commuters, and evening customers with a mix of globally recognized and own-brand offerings.
Company and Brand Overview
Applegreen is Roadside Hospitality.
Every day, millions of us hit the road. We’re commuters rushing to work, families embarking on adventures, truckers keeping the economy moving, and friends reuniting after too long apart. In the hustle and bustle of our journeys, we all share a common need – a reliable place to rest, refuel, and recharge. This is where Applegreen comes in, as a trusted friend on the road.
Since 1992, Applegreen understands the rhythm of Irish life like no other. From the early morning coffee runs to the late-night snack stops, Applegreen has been there, growing alongside its customers. The first Applegreen store was the first step to building community, one friendly interaction at a time.
Walk into any Applegreen today, and you’ll feel the difference. It’s in the warm smile of our colleagues who greet you by name if you’re a regular. It’s the carefully curated selection of products that cater to local tastes and needs–from the full Irish at the Bakewell to a delectable pizza from M&S.
Plus, with a wide range of snacks, drinks & clean, accessible bathrooms, Applegreen is a godsend.
As our world changes, so do the needs of our customers. That’s why you’ll now find fast-charge electric vehicle charging points at many locations. It’s why the food offerings have expanded to include healthier options and cater to various dietary requirements. We listen and adapt to ensure whether you’re a vegan or a cheese toastie enthusiast–you’ll find something to hit the spot.
From Ireland to the UK, and over to the USA, Applegreen has grown, but it’s always remembered its roots and our first service station in Ballyfermot, West Dublin in 1992.
Whether you’re starting your morning commute, midway through a cross-country adventure, or just popping in for a quick snack, Applegreen is there – offering value, convenience, and quality retail.
Store Photos
Store and Offer Overview
At Applegreen, our primary Customer Mission is Roadside Hospitality.
At Rathcoole we are a 24-hour retailer maintaining a steady stream of customers throughout the day, with notable peaks in activity.
- Our braeburn coffee drive-thru is particularly bustling from 6:00 AM to 9:30 AM, catering to early risers and commuters. The amenity building sees a surge during breakfast hours, while our lunch service thrives between 11:30 AM and 3:00 PM.
- Thanks to our partnership with M&S, we’ve also seen a significant boost in evening sales, reaching their zenith from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
- Coffee stands at the heart of our business at Applegreen. We offer diverse options to suit every preference: self-service braeburn machines for those in a hurry, a convenient coffee drive-thru for on-the-go customers, and a relaxing braeburn café for those who wish to linger and savor the experience.
- As the first roadside hospitality retailer to offer self-service iced coffee along with dairy and non-dairy options, braeburn truly sets itself apart in the market.
- Our culinary offerings extend beyond coffee, with breakfast and lunch options available through The Bakewell brand, while global favorites like Burger King® and Chopstix Noodle Bar™ satisfy dinner and evening cravings.
At Applegreen Rathcoole, we take pride in hosting a mix of globally recognized brands and our brand-owned offerings. Marks and Spencer is celebrated for its high-quality food, particularly its convenient and delicious meal options to take home, with Italian cuisine being a customer favorite.
The Burger King® iconic Whopper continues to symbolize dedication to quality and flavour and Chopstix Noodle Bar™ has quickly become a hit with Irish consumers, with Salt n’ Pepper Chicken emerging as the most popular choice.
To conclude, our own-brand, The Bakewell has carved out a special place in Irish convenience cuisine. The legendary chicken fillet roll has become a staple, while our exclusive special-recipe vegan sausage roll offers a tasty plant-based alternative. Applegreen has something delicious to surprise and delight our most-welcomed customers.
Braeburn Café and Drive Thru | Marks & Spencer | The Bakewell | Chopstix Noodle Bar™ | Burger King® | Overall seating for up to 200 people | 14 pump forecourt | Forecourt attendant | Applegreen Electric | Car parking for 76 cars 10 trucks and 2 coaches.
Layout and Retail Environment
Shop
- Our Applegreen shop in Rathcoole boasts a spacious 100 square meter floor area, thoughtfully designed to seamlessly blend the Marks & Spencer food store concept within our existing space. Our primary goal was to create a unified shopping experience that harmoniously integrates both brands, rather than two separate entities.
- At the heart of our store lies the self-serve braeburn coffee island, strategically positioned alongside our popular Food On The Move category. This layout prioritizes customer convenience and smooth store flow, catering to our patrons’ most frequent needs.
- As you traverse our “Golden Mile” shopping aisle, you’ll encounter an array of delights, including the highly sought-after M&S Food For Later meals. Known for their exceptional quality, we proudly stock a variety of Italian, Indian, and Chinese cuisine options. Also, along this path, you’ll find the beloved M&S staple, Percy Pigs, strategically placed to catch your eye.
- Approaching the checkout area, our state-of-the-art refrigerated beverage display showcases an innovative roller track system, ensuring optimal product presentation. Our efficient Queue Management System guides you through an enticing selection of Better Value Always promotions on beverages and confectionery as you make your way to the till counter.
- To enhance your shopping experience, we’ve curated a delightful assortment of exquisite flowers and delectable chocolates, designed to captivate and delight. For those seeking libations our comprehensive off-license section offers an extensive selection of beers from around the world, complemented by a wide range of great-value M&S red and white wines.
- In our commitment to modernization, we’ve updated the store’s aesthetics with new floor tiles and improved lighting, creating a brighter, more inviting atmosphere. Recognizing the growing trend of basket shopping, we’ve also widened our aisles to accommodate this shift in customer behavior.
At Applegreen Rathcoole, we’ve crafted a shopping environment that seamlessly blends convenience, quality, and variety, ensuring a pleasant and efficient experience for all our valued customers.
braeburn Café
At the braeburn café your coffee journey begins before you even step inside.
- As you approach our drive-thru café our eye-catching signage proudly displays our brand logo, beckoning you to experience the warmth and comfort that awaits.
- The drive-thru lane is a masterpiece of design, ensuring a smooth flow of traffic while charming customers with playful window displays.
- As you reach the ordering station, our friendly staff welcome you with genuine smiles and expert knowledge. Our uniforms are sleek and modern, and our baristas embody the premium nature of our brand. Should you choose to step inside, the café boasts an inviting internal area of 181 square metres and you’ll find yourself immersed in a world of elegance.
- The interior design is a beautifully orchestrated symphony of earthy neutrals and vibrant accents, creating an atmosphere that’s both soothing and invigorating. Luxurious materials like oak and terrazzo countertops, accented with touches of copper and premium upholstery, elevate the space to new heights of refinement.
More than just a feast for the eyes, as you breathe in the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee, you’ll notice our meticulously arranged product displays, each item chosen with care and positioned to perfection. It’s an invitation to linger, to explore, and to indulge in a wonderful sensory experience.
- Throughout the cafe, playful touches decorate the space. A custom-designed mural and creative visual merchandising create focal points that spark joy and invite interest. Every corner holds a new delight, encouraging you to immerse yourself in the braeburn experience.
From the moment you arrive to the last sip of your perfectly crafted beverage, braeburn offers a seamless blend of premium quality and playful charm. Our braeburn café is a destination where every detail is crafted to create an experience that’s both inviting and unforgettable.
Food Court
Our Applegreen Rathcoole QSR Area is a vibrant culinary hub spanning 179 square meters and featuring three distinct brands.
- The journey begins with our own-brand The Bakewell café, a welcoming establishment that prides itself on creating a warm atmosphere while offering a perfect blend of convenience, quality, and variety. What sets The Bakewell apart is our unwavering commitment to using fresh, locally sourced ingredients, particularly our 100% Irish chicken, ensuring a superior quality experience for our guests.
The Bakewell’s menu boasts two hero products that have captured the hearts of our customers. The legendary chicken fillet rolls have become a staple of Irish convenience cuisine, while our exclusive vegan sausage roll, crafted from a special recipe of plant proteins and warming spices, caters to those seeking plant-based options.
- To diversify our culinary offerings, we introduced Chopstix Noodle Bar™ in 2018. This Asian-inspired eatery takes pride in preparing cuisine fresh from the chef’s wok, using only the finest, premium-quality ingredients. Chopstix Noodle Bar™ excels at delivering swift service without compromising on flavour or excellence, making it an ideal choice for busy customers on the go.
- Completing our QSR lineup is the globally recognized powerhouse, Burger King®. Renowned for its flame-grilled burgers, quality ingredients, and customization options, Burger King® allows customers to Have it your way® with a variety of delicious and innovative menu choices. For added convenience, our Applegreen Burger King® at Rathcoole features user-friendly kiosks that facilitate quick service.
Beyond our diverse restaurant options, we offer ample seating to accommodate up to 200 customers.
Our food court can seat 100 guests, while the external area and braeburn café provide seating for 40 and 60 guests, respectively. This all-inclusive dining experience ensures that visitors to our Applegreen Rathcoole QSR Area can enjoy a meal in comfort, to compliment their culinary preferences and time constraints.
Customer Experience
At Applegreen, our customers are at the heart of everything we do, and getting their feedback is an important step in creating the best customer experience on the road.
- Conducting regular research and listening to our guests is something we pride ourselves on. To give you a view of the best customer feedback possible, we conducted qualitative customer research over 4 days specifically for Applegreen Rathcoole. As part of this research, a sample of 100 Applegreen Rathcoole customers was included to enhance our submission. This research was conducted by our research partner *Ipsos between July 29th & August 2nd, 2024.
Of the 100 customers surveyed, Applegreen Rathcoole rated extremely positively, with 71% of those surveyed giving us a very high score of 9 -10 on overall satisfaction when asked to rate their overall experience in Rathcoole from 1 – 10.
- When asked to explain what prompted such high scores, customers raved about “great food & coffee options”, “prompt & efficient service”, “friendly staff and excellent parking facilities” & “clean bathrooms” – a few highlights of their experience. It’s clear to us that the effort we put into our store offerings, layout, and brand selection is delivering an excellent guest experience.
The food and coffee options at Applegreen Rathcoole shine through as an area where we exceed customer experience expectations. 83% of respondents claimed that Applegreen Rathcoole has the “best food selection” and 71% highlighted we have “the best coffee options” compared to our competition.
Offering our customers healthier food options where possible is very important to Applegreen and this is reflected in the 83% of respondents who felt that Applegreen Rathcoole has “good healthy food options available”.
- The pride we can take from hosting a mix of globally recognized brands alongside our unique offering in braeburn and The Bakewell is resonating with our customers. Combined with the quality experience in our braeburn coffee drive-thru, our guests appreciate the Applegreen Rathcoole experience.
While Applegreen Rathcoole’s food and coffee options are areas where we exceed customer experience, there are many more reasons why our guests are choosing Applegreen Rathcoole over the competition.
A whopping 96% of customers highlighted that the “extensive choice of products and services” sets us apart from other retailers, 94% stated that the “quality of our offering” is a key differentiator and 90% valued the “fast & efficient service of our colleagues on-site” as a reason they prefer Applegreen Rathcoole to local alternatives. The ambiance/decor, abundant parking, quality toilets & changing facilities were also raised as services where we have the upper hand on our competition.
It’s clear from our research that on almost every level, the customer experience in Applegreen Rathcoole is of great distinction. The high praise we’ve received from our customers is a result of the considered roadside hospitality we’ve carefully brought to life at Applegreen Rathcoole. Listening to our customers and constantly improving the overall experience is something we will continue to embrace as we build the best experience on the road.
Operational Excellence
At the core of our success lies a powerful belief that our people are our greatest asset, and investing in their growth is paramount. We’ve proudly partnered with industry-leading experts to craft cutting-edge learning programs that inform, engage and inspire.
Our development experiences are dynamic, hands-on, and designed to equip our colleagues and teams with skills they can use right away. Real-world application from day one!
We offer leading learning and development programmes at various levels—Emerging, Advancing, and Mastering—designed to cater to the diverse needs of our workforce.
- Our Emerging programmes, such as the Food Passport, are tailored for individuals who are new to a particular skill or subject area, providing them with the essential training required to become fully qualified to work in our global brands.
- The Advancing programmes are crafted for those looking to build on and enhance their existing skills and expertise. This includes annual courses like our Management Development Programme, which supports new managers and those aspiring to run their own store in the future.
- Finally, our Mastering programmes are designed for management who have a high level of expertise and experience. These courses, such as our degree in Retail Management, aim to refine and elevate their skills, enabling them to become masters in their field.
We’ve cultivated an ecosystem of growth that extends far beyond any classroom. We are a community where knowledge flows freely, mentors guide the teams’ journey, and collaboration with peers sparks innovation. Through our learning networks, our colleagues forge connections that last throughout their careers.
In our view, learning is a lifelong journey. As the Operational sector evolves, we challenge our colleagues to embrace a mindset of constant growth, encouraging everyone to embrace excellence in new and inspiring ways.
Overall Performance
Food Sales
- Positive growth at 12% year-over-year.
- Food contributes approximately 50% of our total retail sales.
Store Sales
- Overall store sales have experienced a significant increase of 45% year-over-year.
Daily Transactions
- The total number of transactions per day is on average 4.5k.
- The total number of daily food and beverage transactions stands at €2.4k.
- The total number of daily store transactions is recorded at €2.1k.
‘The Best Foodvenience Store in the World’ 2024