WHEN life throws you lemons, make lemonade. That is exactly what the team at The Maker’s Room social enterprise on Parnell Street have done and it is one of the reason’s they’re nominated for a national award.
The Maker’s Room, under the auspices of autism support charity Dochas, has been put forward for a number of awards in the Irish Restaurant Awards 2025, including Best Cafรฉ in Limerick.
“We are very excited for the team here in the cafรฉ,” food projects manager, Catherine Hartigan told the Limerick Post.
“We are a social enterprise cafรฉ located on the top floor of the Dochas building in Parnell Street. We provide training, work experience opportunities, and employment for autistic adults.”
The fully accessible cafรฉ opens from 9.30am until 4pm on Monday through to to Friday, excluding its 3.30pm closing time on Thursdays.
On the menu are SOMA coffee, hot chocolate, and Barry’s tea, with fresh baking every day, homemade soup and sandwiches, sausage rolls, and, of course, homemade lemonade.
“We have a created a beautiful space here in the heart of the city for people to come and have coffee, meet friends, or just chill and revive the spirits,” said Catherine.
“The success of this project depends on public support. Our ASD community is one of the most distanced groups from the jobs market, but here at The Maker’s Room Cafรฉ we are working hard to change that statistic by creating an appropriate workplace and providing a lovely service for our city.”
