New plans for Laois café closed by fire three years ago
Mountmellick café is next to SuperValu shopping centre
New plans have begun for a Laois café that was forced to shut down three years ago following a fire.
The Coffee Pot in Mountmellick was damaged by a fire in August 2022, and has sat vacant since.
The previously popular café is in the Connolly Street shopping centre in the town, beside SuperValu and the town's two biggest primary schools.
A new planning application for the business was lodged with Laois County Council in late October.
Applicant Daniel O'Riordan seeks permission to "to alter facades, including variations to shopfronts" to The Coffee Pot, Unit 4 and part of Unit 5, Connolly Street.
He proposes to install new windows and change the position of some doors.
The application includes a consent letter by owner BPI Investments, to make the alterations.
Crews from Mountmellick and Portarlington fire stations had worked together for three hours back in 2022 to extinguish the fire, which also caused smoke damage to the adjacent vape shop.
A decision is due on the application by the start of January 2026.