NI mum brews up expansion success with family-run açai bowls café

A Coleraine-based entrepreneur has ambitions to take her burgeoning business to the next level after receiving vital support from Northern Ireland’s free enterprise service, Go Succeed.

Ciara McKenna, a full-time housing officer, wife, and mother of two, opened Causeway Bowls last October – already now the town’s go-to spot for açai bowls and coffee.

Since opening, the café has attracted a loyal customer base, and Ciara now has plans to expand into a larger premises with outdoor seating and hot food in the future.

Reflecting on her journey, Ciara said: “I first caught the entrepreneurial bug during Covid, when my fiancé and I converted a horse box into a mobile coffee van. It was a fantastic experience and gave us a taste of running our own business, but when demand slowed as people went back to work, I went back to focusing on my career and family life.

“Still, I felt like I wanted more. I’ve always been a risk-taker, so when I spotted a premises available to rent beside the local leisure centre, my fiancé wasn’t surprised when we put in an offer the next day. That’s when Causeway Bowls was born.”