BELFAST INSIDER
Hello Belfast 👋
What's the craic?
This week, Belfast is having its coffee moment.
From a serious chat about the price of a coffee to a 113-year-old roastery training up the next generation of baristas ☕️.
Have you noticed the increase too?
Here’s everything interesting we found this week→
THE DIGEST: Belfast in Brief
🎄Can every Belfast weekend be like the Fleadh?
The Fleadh this year may be over, but it may have left Belfast with something more useful than a big footfall number.
The city's Night Czar, Michael Stewart, says there are now conversations about borrowing some of the festival's ideas for Culture Night and potentially the four weekends before Christmas, think more pedestrianised space.
From what we hear, there could be changes on how the Christmas Market uses the city centre, with smaller chalets and licensed areas spreading things out beyond the usual City Hall setup.
The Fleadh pedestrianisation took a year to plan, and the festival did have its transport headaches too. So could Belfast actually pull this off for Christmas?
Over to you: what should Belfast borrow from Fleadh week for Christmas?
🚌 Someone just turned an old Belfast Citybus into a boat
Only in Northern Ireland.
Artist Paddy Bloomer has welded an old Belfast Citybus to a scrap wind turbine and turned the whole thing into a 14.2-metre, 11-tonne boat.
The Bus Boat has now been launched on the River Bann after two years of work at Coleraine Harbour. Paddy is heading for Portadown, with stops planned at Ballymoney and Portglenone along the way.
Naturally, people have been stopping to ask if they can use their Smartcard to get to Portadown 😂.
We'd pay the fare just to see it.
Over to you: would you pay the fare?
☕ A 113-year-old coffee business is giving young people a way into hospitality
A family coffee business in Lisburn that has been roasting coffee since 1913 is opening its doors to local schools and youth groups.
Johnson's Coffee is giving young people hands-on barista training, from pulling espresso and steaming milk to making iced coffees and matcha.
The idea is refreshingly simple. Young people need experience to get hospitality jobs, so why not give them some?
Weekly sessions are available through schools and youth groups, giving participants something practical for their CV before they've even landed their first shift.
Belfast's coffee scene really is having a moment. Last week it was Ravenhill Road finally getting its café, the spot got so much love on Instagram. This week, it's a Lisburn roastery investing in the next generation of baristas.
A very commendable move.
Now tell us: What got you your first break into a trade or industry?
🏪 LOCAL BUSINESS SCOOP
Openings, Closures & Buzz Around Town
🎾 East Belfast is getting a new padel and wellness hub
Padel has been popping up all over Belfast. Now someone is going properly big with it.
House of Padel is opening a 33,000 sq ft sports and wellness club off the Woodstock Road at the end of September, following a £1.5m investment.
The spot, located on Redcar Street will have six double padel courts, two singles, three pickleball courts, plus a weights room, sauna, yoga studio and food bar.
At least 20 courts have been built around Northern Ireland since 2023. The founder of House of Padel says East Belfast "felt like the perfect location" for the Belfast expansion.
The new site will also create 15 jobs.
So, if you've been wondering what all the fuss about padel is... September might be your chance to find out.
👀 Padel, pickleball or plain old squash, what's your racquet sport of choice?
☕ And Belfast is having a serious chat about coffee prices
A recent discussion among Belfast Redditors has turned into a surprisingly lively debate about the price of a coffee, with people mentioning £3.95 cappuccinos, £4.60 oat lattes and £4.80 dirty chais.
Some say they've stopped buying takeaway coffee altogether. Others have bought coffee machines for home. One person reckons they'd rather meet friends in the pub now. Another has started carrying a flask.
Then there's the other side. Coffee shops are dealing with higher wages, employer costs, rent and ingredients, while for plenty of people a £4 coffee isn't just a drink. It's somewhere to sit, chat and watch the world go by.
So maybe the real question isn't "Why is coffee so expensive?"
It's whether people are starting to decide it's not worth it anymore.
And it's not just coffee. We flagged the same thing happening to the price of a pint a few months back, Belfast quietly became more expensive than Dublin for a night out, and people noticed.
Over to you: is £4 too much for a coffee?
Your Weekend Lineup
🎟️ WHAT’S HAPPENING:
Your guide to what’s on across Belfast & Northern Ireland
🍽️ The one to book: Fregz Dinner Table
Before we get into the full list, one date needs to jump the queue.
On Sunday 30 August, Belfast Insider is teaming up with famed Nigerian chef, Chef Fregz for a one-night Nigerian dining experience at Trait Late on High Street.
Think family-style sharing plates, a complimentary bottle of wine per table, and the kind of night that gets talked about for weeks afterwards.
£75 per person.
Event starts at 3pm and spaces are limited.
Right, here's everything else worth knowing this week ↓
Thursday 20 August
Friday 21 August
Saturday 22 August
Sunday 23 August
Monday 24 August
Tuesday 25 August
Wednesday 26 August
💛 COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
🛠️ Belfast has a library full of tools
Have you heard of the Belfast Tool Library?
It's basically a regular library, except instead of books, there are mowers, sanders, drills and circular saws.
The volunteer-led initiative gives members access to more than 1,300 tools, helping people save money, reduce waste and get stuck into projects without filling the shed with equipment they'll barely use.
Over to you: What's sitting in your shed that you've used twice?
🍽️ Foodie Finds
🍣 Belfast has a sushi burrito
I've spent far too long watching Americans absolutely demolish sushi burritos on TikTok and wondering why nobody in Belfast was doing them.
Turns out, Rin Sushi on the Upper Lisburn Road is.
The one that caught our eye is the chicken katsu sushi burrito, with spicy mayo and teriyaki on the side.
Crispy chicken, loads of sauce, rice and all the sushi bits rolled into one enormous, gloriously messy thing.
The verdict from our resident foodie?
"I'm so happy that somewhere in Belfast now does that."
Honestly, same.
Now we just need someone to bring us crispy rice with spicy tuna and we're sorted. 👀
Watch the full foodie find on TikTok
@emma__anastacia Prayers have been answered 🙏🏽 so happy I found this 📍 @Rin Japanese & Chinese 📍 BT10 🍣
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That's your Belfast briefing for this week.
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Until next Thursday.