""We had signed the lease in 2007... quite an expensive lease, which was a regular lease at the time," the chef tells Katie Byrne on the latest episode of the Money Talks podcast. "It was about €125,000 a year rent for the space. We signed that with personal guarantees - we were a bit naive going in, we kind of said, 'ah yeah, sure we'll just sign whatever we need to sign'. And then the crash happened and it was... yeah, it was difficult.""
"Despite the overwhelming gloom of the financial crash, McMahon recalls people just getting on with it and having a good time. "Bizarrely, we're very resilient - not only in terms of restaurateurs and chefs, but as customers. I still remember everyone coming in and having great nights even though we were getting bailed out and all these things were happening," he says."
""It didn't take away from the happiness of the five years we were in that location. I always say to people [that] our first Cava was like our bad mortgage - everyone did something during that time when there was way more money, there was just way more possibilities. People were getting 110pc mortgages. Signing up to Cava, even though it opened up the possibility for us to do Aniar, for us to do Tartare, it was kind of our bad mortgage.""
The lease signed in 2007 carried an annual rent around €125,000 and included personal guarantees that created heavy obligations after the financial crash. A new small-plates tapas concept took about two years to gain wide recognition. Customers remained resilient and continued to enjoy nights out despite the economic turmoil. The initial venue, described as a 'bad mortgage', enabled later projects such as Aniar and Tartare but proved a steep learning curve. Subsequent work included opening Kombu, a ramen and bao bar in Galway, and exploring painting during lockdown with some canvases sold.
Read at Irish Independent
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