“It’s not too mad in here, so we’re ok for help.”
As the lady behind the counter in Sprout, on Ballsbridge Terrace in Dublin, calmly said this to her fellow worker who was offering to lend a hand, I took a look around me.
The queue was out the door. The staff were working at a frantic rate filling the bowls and making the wraps. The shop was sardine-packed with hungry people. The brews were brewing. The soup was bubbling. The juices were flowing. The orders were stacking up. The till was churning.
And I thought: Well, if this is “not too mad”, then what on earth does “mad” look like in Sprout?
Sprout has been moving super fast. There are now 5 kitchens, at Dawson Street, Mount Street, John Rogerson’s Quay, the “not too mad” store on Ballsbridge Terrace, and the outlier at Avoca, Dunboyne.
I guess the owners, Jack and Theo Kirwan, would probably say that they aren’t moving too fast, but then it’s obvious that they work at warp speed, compared to the rest of us mortals.
We had the falafel wraps, and they were mighty, and some tasty sweet treats from their excellent suppliers, Nutshed. Our spinach and beetroot drinks were so invigorating that we wondered if, just maybe, they were the reason why everyone at Sprout can work like madmen, and make it seem like a walk in the park.
Bedlam is the new normal in the fast-moving Sprout.
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