County Limerick man earns title of ‘restaurant boss of the year’

A LIMERICK man who runs a popular Thai restaurant in Dublin is celebrating after securing a prestigious industry award.

Conor Sexton, who hails from Kildimo, has for the last five years, run Nightmarket with his wife Jutarat Suwankeeree, in Ranelagh on Dublin’s southside.

He was named national restaurant manager of the year and Dublin manager of the year at the annual Restaurants Association of Ireland awards, which were held in the capital’s Convention Centre.

It’s the highest personal award Conor has received, and he is delighted to have been recognised for his work in what’s a tough economic climate.

"The restaurant industry is a tough industry and it’s getting more difficult as the years go by. But there are no secrets to it: it’s a lot of hard work, especially over the last two years with all the lockdowns and changes. But we were adaptive. We didn’t close for any period at all. We got into takeaway and delivery,” he explained.

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Conor came to the capital 20 years ago, after stints working at the Woodlands House Hotel in Adare with Mary and Dick Fitzgerald as well as enjoying employment at Great Southern Hotels in Kerry.

Now he employs 25 people in Dublin – 20 on a full-time basis, five part-time.

One thing he learned from lockdown, he said, is that take-away and home delivery is “the growth area”.

As a consequence, he hopes to expand that offering by opening a new location in the next 12 months.