DUBLIN, 7 th APRIL 2019 – Next to The Library Café, the only purpose-built-café in Monasterevin, Co
Kildare, won 1 st place in a competition organised by the Irish-Hungarian Business Association (IHBA). The award is given for the best business idea by a small enterprise in Ireland with connections to Hungary that demonstrates significant commercial potential.
Next to The Library Café – which is located, well, next to the Monasterevin Library – is a family friendly café catering for the local needs of Monasterevin. Apart from offering an Irish menu, the café is aiming to introduce Hungarian cuisine to the Irish Community in Kildare.
The café, owned by Hungarian-born Andaluzia Rampelt, opened its doors for customers in September 2018 and currently employs three people.
This year’s award was sponsored by Pannonia Bio, an Irish company that operates a biorefinery in Hungary. Pannonia Bio’s ethanol protects the environment by having greenhouse gas emissions that are 30% those of the petrol it displaces. Pannonia Bio, founded by Mark Turley an Irish entrepreneur, purchases over one million tonnes of maize from Hungarian farmers annually and supports over 3000 jobs.
Commenting on the award, IHBA Chairman Botond Tarcsay said “Our selection criteria gave most scores for the originality of the idea, and we also looked for strong commercial potential as well as the clarity of the idea presentation. The shortlisted applications were very strong and the competition was really tight this year.”
Péter Horváth, First Counsellor for Economic, Trade and Investment Affairs from the Hungarian Embassy in Ireland said “I’m pleased to see the high entrepreneurial quality with Hungarian background in Ireland.
The collaboration between Ireland and Hungary has been on a growing trajectory for the last few years and our goal is to support people with bright, innovative business ideas.”
James Cogan, Government Affairs Manager at Pannonia Bio said “Great new ideas are always in high demand on the market and they fuel the growth of our society. It was a pleasure for Pannonia Bio to sponsor the Bright Idea Award this year and support this way entrepreneurs with developing their businesses. Congratulations and best wishes for the future to both Next To The Library Café and Trip2Go, the runner up in the competition”
Anadaluzia Rampelt, founder and proprietor of Next To The Library Café said “ I’m absolutely delighted with the award and I can’t believe that I won 1 st place. It was my childhood dream to own a café and getting such a prestigious award for it is beyond what I dreamed of. We love Monasterevin and already have great support from the people of the area who enjoy high quality coffee, our lovely pastries, sandwiches and of course our authentic Hungarian Goulash and other dishes.”
