Ardkeen Quality Food Store

In 1967, Robert and Pamela Jephson opened a small grocery store in Waterford with gas pumps outside. The surrounding area was still largely rural and was beginning to become residential. Ardkeen Quality Food Store grew with that community and remains family-owned: their sons Colin, Kevin, and Gerald run a business that has made food provenance its central focus.

The new store opened in December 1998, following an expansion that created space for more products and departments. Today, the Dunmore Road shop carries more than two hundred small-scale Irish producers, according to the company. A substantial share come from County Waterford, making a weekly grocery trip an opportunity to discover food made nearby.

The selection combines fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, dairy, and cheese with pantry staples including oils, vinegars, preserves, condiments, and baked goods. Goatsbridge supplies smoked rainbow trout; Macroom offers stone-ground oatmeal, and Glenilen Farm provides yogurts. International cooking ingredients, seaweed, nuts, and pulses sit alongside items for preparing and accompanying everyday meals.

Supplier stories give the shelves context. Julie and Rod Calder-Potts grow organic apples at Highbank Organic Orchard in Kilkenny. Fiona and Malcolm Falconer of Wild About make jams, chutneys, and nettle pesto using produce from their smallholding in Monamolin, County Wexford. These distinct stories explain why a particular jar or bottle has a place in the shop.

The sweet selection includes chocolates, cookies, confectionery, and products such as Fudge by Mella’s sea salt caramel fudge. The wine and drinks sections add Irish craft beer and cider, spirits, and wines, alongside nonalcoholic choices. Books, kitchen utensils, and selected personal-care products extend the range beyond food without displacing its culinary core.

Gift hampers bring products together in selections evoking places such as the Copper Coast and Creadan. Shoppers can choose a ready-made assortment or build their own; corporate options include messages and branded presentation. The online store broadens access to Irish food and handles international shipping, with delivery terms tied to the destination and purchase.

Ardkeen works on two scales: the family store serving its surrounding community and a showcase for producers that reaches buyers elsewhere. Its catalog traces connections between farms, food makers, and the table. For visitors to Waterford, it offers a practical introduction to that food network through products to take home, cook with, or give as gifts.