Apache Pizza Mullingar wins 'Store of the Year' award
Out of over 187 stores nationwide, Apache Pizza Mullingar has been celebrated for its high standards and commitment to community, winning the 'Store of the Year' Award Central Division.
Eoghan Murray, franchisee of Apache Pizza Mullingar, says its "an honour" for him and his staff, and testament to the hard work they have put in over the last number of years.
"Because of the pandemic there were no awards held over the last two years, this is the return of them and it means so much to us," Eoghan told the Westmeath Examiner.
"To be recognised like this, after Covid and those difficult years, to come back up as strong as we were beforehand in the eyes of the Apache brand. The brand's like our parents, you want your parents to look at you and tell you've done well, so this means an awful to us and our staff. We do our own 'employee of month' awards and small bits like that, but to be recognised by head office, for them to recognise a small store in Mullingar means a lot to us," he said.
Paul Duffy, Franchisee Business Leader (FBL) for the Central Division, who travelled to Mullingar to present the award, said it takes "commitment to service, quality, and standards" to win such a prestigious award.
"The way they handled the Fleadh, just everything the guys here have done over the last two to three years, during the difficult times of Covid and lockdown, they changed and adapted," commented Paul Duffy.
"But also they are pillars of the community in Mullingar, they sponsor a lot of events, and they are just a pleasure to work with. And at the same time, the standard is always one hundred percent here," he added.
The 'Store of the Year' award will now be added to the seven the team at Apache Pizza Mullingar have won in previous years.
"We've been between store one and two over the last seven years, we let Cork take it sometimes," jokes Eoghan, "But there's a bit of a difference between Cork and Mullingar."
Apache Pizza Mullingar currently employ 37 full and part time workers, and reached close to 50 personnel during the Fleadh last summer.
The team are also involved in this year's WinterFest, in conjunction with Lis Café, hosting a drive-in cinema event at Tudenham, Lough Ennell, on December 3, 4, 9, 10, 16 and 17. Booking for the event will be Mullingar.ie and Eventbrite.