Green Mango awarded €1,000 for best designed shop front

Thai takeaway ‘Green Mango’ received a boost this week after receiving €1,000 from South Dublin County Council for improvements to its shopfront, reports Zach Keenan.

The award for Best Designed Shopfront was in addition to a grant received to partly fund the installation of an improved shopfront design.

“I congratulate Keith and Nipaporn Kennerk on the wonderful improvement to the new shopfront at Green Mango, on Chapel Hill, in Lucan,” said the Mayor of South Dublin County, Councillor Peter Kavanagh.

“The efforts by the team at Green Mango has made a significant improvement to their own premises and the street overall through careful, thoughtful use of contemporary materials informed by good design.”

This comes as part of the Council’s annual ‘Shopfront Improvement Grant Scheme’.

The program, which has run since 2014, provides grants to independently owned shops for their efforts to improve their shopfront.

“The Shop Front Grant Scheme is intended to improve the appearance of independently owned shops fronting public streets,” said a council spokesperson.

The Council covers 50 per cent of the overall cost of works whilst the shop pays the remainder.

The grant can cover something as simple as a paint job, to a major re-design of the shopfront.

Each year, an assessment panel reviews the improvements of the applicants under the scheme. Thus, they select the best exemplar of shopfront design and award that shop €1,000.

Previous winners of the Best Designed Shopfront have included the Tallaght Traditional Barber Shop on Main Street in Tallaght. A classic mahogany wood look to its shopfront saw the barbershop awarded the prize in 2016.

Such efforts to improve shop aesthetics is not only great for businesses, but also for towns and communities.