Women in Business: Ann Sheehy
THE award-winning Bastion Kitchen will celebrate thirteen years in business this July, and over that time it has proved a big hit with locals and visitors alike for its health-conscious, tasty food with a strong emphasis on local, Irish and organic produce.
Kiltoom's Ann Sheehy followed her passion for healthy and nutritious food to open the eaterie on Athlone's vibrant Left Bank area in 2013 and has never looked back since.
Drawing on a background in hospitality and her previous career in the Family Support Service, Ann, who has two daughters Annie (10) and Emily (8) and one son Cormac Jnr. (15 months), put all of her skills and experience to good use to build a thriving business at 1 Bastion Street, Athlone.
A major part of the ethos of the health food café is offering healthy and wholesome options to give customers a great choice for breakfast, lunch or coffee with vegetarian, vegan and allergy friendly options all on the menu.
Some customer favourites for breakfast include smashed avocado on sourdough bread topped with poached egg and freshly baked scones.
For lunch, options like fresh soup, a falafel and halloumi cheese sandwich, organic red lentil dahl with turmeric brown rice are popular with customers. The cafe's sweet treats and tray bakes, all baked in-store, are also hugely popular.
Another reason for celebration was two silver awards at the Irish Takeaway Awards for Best Healthy Takeaway Cafe and Free from Takeaway of the Year, and being named Best Café in Westmeath at the 2025 Irish Restaurants Awards.
Bastion Kitchen also stocks local and Irish products on its shelves or in its online store, supporting Midland producers like Biasol, Feighery's Farm beetroot juice, Richmond cordial, Kilbeggan porridge and Ardu organic bakery, among many others.
You can also take home great produce, courtesy of the cafe's own Bastion Bia range of hummus, pesto, relish and granola.
Bastion Kitchen has recently expanded into Dún na Sí, Moate, with seasonal opening hours alongside the heritage park.
Ann would like to take this opportunity to wish all Moms a Happy Mother’s Day and Happy International Women’s Day to all women in business!
For more information, check out https:// www.bastionkitchen.online/