The popular Honey Truffle Café on Pearse Street in Dublin has been taken over by the owners of the Il Valentino Bakery in nearby Grand Canal Dock.
The new owners are Ken and Graham McDonnell, the proprietors of the Il Valentino Bakery and Cafe at Grand Canal Dock in Dublin 2. The pair also acquired one of Dublin’s best-known patisseries and cafes, The Queen of Tarts, in 2022 when its owners, sisters Yvonne and Regina Fallon, decided to retire.
The former owner Eimer Rainsford said, in a statement on social media, “After almost 9 years, the time has come for me to part ways with Honey Truffle.
“Rest assured, our wonderful, creative, hardworking and supportive team are all remaining,” said Ms Rainsford, who is the formerly head chef of Avoca and the Pink Ginger cookery school, noting it is “a time of mixed emotions”.
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“Honey Truffle has been a creative food passion, of which I am very proud. Not least of all because of our returning customers, many on first-name terms, who have frequented Honey Truffle over the years.”
The deal to sell the Honey Truffle Café was completed swiftly taking “just a couple of months” with the previous owner noting that the time “felt right, for various reasons,” she said, thanking the cafe’s customers.
Honey Truffle Ltd, the company behind the Pearse Street bakery, made a small profit in 2024 of €33,677, on top of a similar €38,790 profit in 2023. The cafe had an average of 13 employees during the year.
The new ownership, McDonnell Core Hospitality Limited (MCDH), is behind the Il Valentino Bakery and Cafe and had an average of 56 employees in 2024. The company made €477,000 in post-tax profits in 2024, with lifetime profits of €1.77 million.
A spokesman for MCDH said the Honey Truffle branding would continue to be used and it is expected to be “business as usual” at the venue.
Ms Rainsford was contacted for comment.
