Terenure PPU – Alumni in Focus – Niall Fitzharris (Class of 2003)

  • Years attending Terenure College?

I attended the college from 1997 – 2003!

  • Current compaposition?

Owner and operator of The Hazel House Café and Woodwork School

  • Tell us about your business/company…

We are a cafe and woodwork school concentrating on real organic homegrown homemade food.

We started off serving tea’s, coffee’s and home baked goods and over the years we’ve grown to a fully-fledged café serving food all day and also run pizza and wine nights at weekends.

We built our own stone, wood-fired pizza oven for our weekend pizza and wine nights. We built a smoker which we use every week for smoking meats and we have converted a cute 1970s caravan into our bakery. 

Our ethos is from the ground up.

“Crafting-making-growing-baking” 

Hence we have made pretty much everything in the cafe and school out of wood ourselves. We then offer to pass this knowledge on through woodwork courses and in the future plan to offer courses in organic growing and cooking. 

We’re currently on a big push to try and have every single item in the Café Organic.

  • How did you get your idea or concept for the business?

I love wood and I love food. Together they make The Hazel House and that’s pretty much where the idea came from!

  • Favourite Terenure College memory?

There’s no one single memory that sticks out but I’d have to say all of 6th year. The freedom on the top floor and being able to hang out in the common room, memories of great fun times with the lads. 

  • Have you found the Terenure College community was a benefit to you inyour career? Example?

Absolutely. I started off my career as a carpenter.  In the beginning most of my work came from referrals from someone I knew from the college. It’s a great community to be a part of.

  • If you were Minister for Finance for a day, what change would you make?

I’d reduce company taxes and Vat rates. They can be crippling to small businesses like ours. 

  • What’s an interesting fact people may not know about you?

My favourite movie is in fact “The Notebook”

  • If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?

 Just go with your idea and act. Don’t let anyone or anything stop you and keep going one day at a time. 

  • How can people best access you and your business?

 Just call right in to us here on Mutton Lane and we’d be love to say hello and offer you a coffee or a bite to eat. You can visit our website at https://www.the-hazel-house.ie/

Or the best way to keep up to date is probably through our Instagram or Facebook accounts