By Tom Young
The Salvage Shop is closing down, the St. John’s Park site on which it is located having been sold for development.
Efforts to sell the business as a going concern over the past 12 months failed due to the complicated nature of the trade and the need to relocate. Attempts to organise a staff takeover also failed and the staff have now been made redundant.
The huge volume of stock is being cleared by way of a closing down sale which has commenced. The shop will be completing any projects and orders that are underway and the closure is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The Salvage Shop has been synonymous down through the years with the quality of its furniture, doors, floors and stained glass that it has produced from recycled materials. It has supplied many full interiors including most recently the revamp of The Munster Bar in Waterford city which included installation of material from the late Mr. Michael O’Connor’s old chemist shop at the Quay.
Over the years it built a considerable reputation through the art it produced, the many successful exhibitions it hosted and a strong association with Jim Nolan’s play The Salvage Shop (“where nothing is beyond redemption”).
The founders of the Salvage shop, Jim And Seán Corcoran this week acknowledged the loyalty of it’s staff down through the years and their dedication to quality. They also thanked their patrons from near and wide.
Jim is retiring from mainstream business to pursue other interests. Watch out for the handmade carousel he is bringing to John Roberts Square this Christmas. Seán and his wife Miranda are planning to build a new kind of Arts Centre on the cliffs near Bonmahon.
