Successful Athlone café expands further
The successful Bridge Fifty One café, located beside House Fitness on Athlone's Grace Road, has further expanded its facilities to meet its ever-growing popularity.
Open seven days a week, Bridge Fifty One has gone from strength to strength since opening its doors to the public in 2024 – proving to be Athlone's go-to place for quality and convenience, whether in search of hot or iced drinks, smoothies, toasties, protein shakes, pastries, wraps and so much more.
Such has been its popularity since opening, the café has twice expanded its facilities to cater for its loyal customers, to whom they are extremely thankful to for the ongoing support. After recently expanding its indoor footprint, the café now boasts seating for 50 people (inside) while its outdoor seated area caters for another 20 customers.
With almost every product locally sourced and home-baked on the premises, manager Clare McConnell, who is originally from Donegal and has been locally based for 16 years, said the success of the café has led to its further expansion. It was, therefore, no surprise when the café was nominated for the Best Café Award (Westmeath) at the 2026 Irish Restaurant Awards.
The café does not always run with traditional nine to five opening hours, instead staying open until 7pm four-days-a-week to cater for those otherwise occupied until the evening time. Bridge Fifty One opens at 7am from Monday to Friday, and also at 8.30am every Saturday and Sunday.
“It's important to us that people can still meet-up and socialise at the café after the regular working hours, or for parents who might be very busy during the day. That's why we offer more flexible opening hours and we are seeing more and more people visiting the café in the evening which is great,” said Clare.
“We have been getting great numbers through the door since opening, and expanding the café was always part of the plan to keep growing the business. We are delighted with how things are going and look forward to welcoming many more new customers, as well as our loyal customers who consistently come back,” she added.
Morning bites, including scrambled eggs on sourdough toast, porridge topped with berries and honey, bagels and granola bowls, are available from 7am to 11am, while a wide range of delicious toasties, wraps, salads and soup are always popular with customers. Acai bowls, a range of smoothies and protein shakes, and an extensive tea and coffee menu also continue to prove a success at Bridge Fifty One.
For further information on Bridge Fifty One, Grace Road, Athlone N37 AE83, you can follow the café on Instagram at bridgefifty.1, and to place takeaway orders or enquiries contact 085 1876697 or email: bridge51athlone@gmail.com
OPENING HOURS
Monday - Thursday: 7am–7pm
Friday: 7am–5pm
Saturday and Sunday: 8.30am–pm