“I never have the Sunday blues. I never dread going to work on a Monday morning. I really enjoy my job.”

As you sit in the bustling café in Enniskillen’s Buttermarket you can see why mother and daughter team Sharon Morrison and Brigid Brady enjoy getting up for work.

For 25 years, Rebecca’s café has been in their hands, with Brigid opening the café in 1991 and Sharon taking over in 2006.
In that time they have diversified from the simple customer requests for scones, soup and tea to a whole array of speciality coffees, lunches and sweet treats. This is in line with the rise of the ‘coffee culture’, a trend that has concerned the business women from time-to-time.
“Since I’ve come home to run the business there have been 15 coffee shops opened in Enniskillen,” stated Sharon.

There are currently around 20 coffee shops in the vicinity of Enniskillen town centre, not including bars and hotels which serve coffee, scones, lunch etc. How do these business women set themselves apart? “You just have to keep working really hard and keep producing what people want,” Sharon said. “You have to keep your finger on the pulse and see what other people are doing and making sure you are keeping on top of the current trends because the culture does change quite rapidly. With the increase of coffee chains coming to this town, you have to make sure that you’re competing with them. It’s quite nice to go to other towns to see how they do things.”
Brigid added: “I think it’s the friendly atmosphere we have with our customers and the home-cooked food which makes us successful.”

The pair are aware that the café’s location in the cobbled Buttermarket also helps to attract customers. “The Buttermarket is a lovely location. That definitely adds to our business. The cobbled courtyard and different crafts around make it a nice, airy place to work,” said Sharon, adding that their business does not enjoy the same lower rents available to some of the arts and crafts businesses that are under the auspices of Fermanagh Enterprise.
Originally opened around 1835 for the buying and selling of local dairy produce, the Buttermarket was restored by Fermanagh District Council, with the help of EU funding, and the craft and design centre was opened on 1 June 1991.

A woman called Rebecca had baked for the traders in the original Buttermarket so the café acquired the same name. A tender was put out for the running of the café and Brigid was successful in securing the contract.
“Gerry Burns and Rodney Connor were very helpful in getting me on board,” she commented. 

Sharon, added: “Mum has always been a really good baker. She applied to take the coffee shop on and the rest is history! Twenty-five years later and we are still here.” She was 15 on the opening day and recalls that “it was mental; it was really busy. We were washing dishes, everyone was helping. Even people from the council were coming in to help”.

The Collegiate student soon moved to Dublin to study Business in Griffith College, before securing a marketing job in the city. After seven years away from Enniskillen, Sharon received a phone call from her mother asking if she would consider taking over if Brigid semi-retired.
“Mum asked if I would be interested in coming home to take on the business and I thought: ‘Why not? I’ll give it a go and see how I get on.’ That was 15 years ago!” Sharon explained. 

Sharon has now been at the helm longer than her mother. However Brigid is still around, helping out each day and covering for Sharon if she needs help.
Sharon bakes along with her staff, who she praises by saying: “Our staff are valuable to us, they are very good.”

One and a half years ago, Sharon made an investment in an extension to the business. It was a personal investment, rather than a bank loan.
“We needed the extra space. We were often turning people away from the door because we are so busy at lunchtime and that was frustrating,” she commented. “I was worried that I wasn’t going to be able to fill the place and it was an extra expense but it’s been great. We got a bigger kitchen. When mum started she worked in a very, very small kitchen. We produced quite a lot out of that small space but it’s much more comfortable now that we have a bigger space.
“The extension was funded by a personal investment. You’re never done putting money into the business, making improvements, tweaking things, new machinery, displays – you’re always improving.”

Enniskillen is changing in that customers expect their local eateries to follow food and drink trends. In addition, Brigid has noticed that “food has changed; people have allergies now that they are aware of which means we have to be aware of them. It’s important to keep on top of that for all customers.”

The street scape is changing too, with more services and coffee shops replacing the retail shops which used to populate the main street.
“There aren’t as many shops up the main street as there used to be and now there are quite a few empty shops which is a symptom of the changes in how people are spending, with more and more people shopping online,” Sharon observed. “However, the atmosphere in Enniskillen has always been friendly. Tourists would always say what a friendly place it is.”
She would like to see “a few unique shops pooping up” but she recognises that “it’s not easy when you factor in rent and rates.”

Operating on a border area “has had its ups and downs.” Sharon stated: “At the minute it’s good. The euro rate is up again. But when the euro rate goes down that definitely has a knock on effect. There has definitely been an increase in southern customers since the BREXIT vote.”
When asked about her reaction to BREXIT, Sharon replied: “I’ll stay out of that conversation. I’ll stick to my scones and hope for the best! What else can you do? You just have to roll the sleeves up and off you go.”During the last recession the business “definitely did find a downturn” and “that added to the worry when it came to deciding on an extension.”

Brigid concluded: “With me being here 25 years, I’ve seen ladies coming in pregnant, the babies being born and now they are our customers – some of them are even working for us! That’s very special.
“I never even thought that the business would still be in our family 25 years later. When I asked Sharon, she didn’t jump at it but once but she thought about it, she came home, and it’s just went from there.
“I’m so proud of Sharon. She has turned this coffee shop around and she has exceeded my expectations.”

Sharon thanked the customers over the last 25 years, “many of which who have are become good friends to me and mum.” She added: “There’s a sense of pride in operating a family business in the town you grew up in; your home place.”