Cork publican Ernest Cantillon will be first guest on the 'ieBusiness Podcast'
'I've had all that time to… grieve is the wrong word, but to accept that it’s time to move on,' Ernest Cantillon said about the sale of Electric. Picture: Denis Scannell
Before we began recording the , Cork-based restaurateur and publican Ernest Cantillon casually said he has put his popular eatery Electric up for sale.
Mr Cantillon broke the news through a booming a smile, telling me it was not with regret that he made this decision.
"I've had all that time to… grieve is the wrong word, but to accept that it’s time to move on,” said Mr Cantillon.
Mr Cantillon, who runs another popular spot, Sober Lane, had not announced he was selling the restaurant before recording and was keeping the details under wraps for another couple of weeks until he could disclose them.
However, he spoke to me briefly about closing that chapter of his life in the first episode of , in association with PwC, which will go live tomorrow at 8am.
“I haven’t fallen out of love with hospitality, Sober Lane is like my right arm,” he said.
"But a restaurant the size of Electric isn’t something you can half run."
Mr Cantillon is also a co-founder of distilling business Kinsale Spirits and said he is now able to invest more time in the business following the sale of Electric.
He is currently eyeing up new opportunities and is looking at ways he can sell his whiskey in Nigeria and other markets.
In addition to talking about his business ventures, Mr Cantillon shares his insights on the changing environment for hospitality business operators post-covid as well as candidly speaking about being a sober publican.
“I’m sure if I was on a shrink’s couch they’d have a field day,” he jokes.
Mr Cantillon also talked about a topic that daunts many who run their own businesses – succession planning.
Having survived the banking crash, a failed pub in Dublin, covid lockdowns and an ongoing inflationary environment, he still would not tell his sons not to go into the industry.
“I unequivocally wouldn’t say to them to avoid hospitality no matter what you do because it’s given me a great life,” he said.
That said, Ernest Cantillon went against the grain when he opened his first pub in Cork. Both his parents studied law and his siblings ended up joining their father’s law firm.
Mr Cantillon’s full conversation with business journalist Cáit Caden can be heard on The IE Business Podcast which will be released on site tomorrow at 8am. It will also be available wherever you get your podcasts.
A new episode will be released each week where employers, entrepreneurs and industry experts share their insights about operating in sectors across the Irish economy.
