Dublin’s Spar Gourmet store is the answer to how retailers can combine convenience with an artisanal in-store experience.

Spar is an international symbol group, meaning that the same name is applied to multiple formats in numerous countries. In the UK it is usually seen as shorthand for value-led convenience retailing and Spar stores are not generally the sort of places that people might want to spend huge amounts of time in.

Cross the Irish Sea, however, and in Dublin, Spar is an altogether different animal. On the ‘fair city’s’ Baggot Street there are no fewer than three Spar outlets and this one, the Spar Gourmet, is as much about passing the time with a cappuccino or a light snack as it is about buying groceries.

Open for a little under a year, this small store has bold graphics, glass counters and serveries and a cafe at the front. It also plays the artisan food game with wooden display tables and spotlights on the product instead of the shop as a whole. If you’re in Dublin, it is worth a visit to see another version of convenience.