A pandemic project started by two friends in New York City has grown to become one of the most popular Irish food delivery services in the US.
Niall Boyle and Noel Kerin are the founders of Irish Breakfast Box, a company that ships the best of Irish fry ups directly to customers' doors. The handpacked deliveries contain everything from specially made black and white pudding to Kerrygold butter and imported breads, all in one container.
All customers need to do is select one of the nine available options, fill out their details and wait for the box to land on their doorstep.
Irish pub on wheels roaming the US greets everyone with 'a grin and a Guinness'
'There’s nothing like singing old Irish ballads to ex-pats who haven't seen home for years'
The idea was born in 2021, when the bar that Niall and Noel run in Manhattan, The Blasket Pub, was closed during lockdown.
“Noel’s mother sent him a gift package from home full of chocolate and what not and she had wanted to send him black pudding but she couldn’t because of regulations,” Niall told IrishStar.com.
“That kind of got us thinking and we started getting the wheels in motion. We asked some of our friends in the Irish community if they’d do a little test for us.
“We launched in 2022 and the original plan was to just ship around New York, Boston and Philadelphia but by the time we got everything up and running we decided to just take on the whole country.”
Irish Breakfast Box deliveries are available in every state besides Hawaii and Alaska. Many of the orders come from people in Ireland who want to send a gift to their friends or family in the US.
New York is one of the most popular states for deliveries but a lot of orders are also placed for California. Texas is also a hotspot, as is Milwaukee.
“There’s so many Irish in Los Angeles; San Diego; San Francisco; Austin; Minnesota. Then there’s people in the most random towns in places like Michigan. We’re shipping these things everywhere,” said Niall, a Co Tyrone native.
“People will email or call me after they get the box and end up just wanting to have a chat when they hear the Irish accent. We’re really everywhere.”
The meats for the boxes are specially made by a butcher in New York who is from Co Kerry. The teas, beans and breads are imported from Ireland and all of the produce is organic. Some of the boxes even include fresh eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes.
Niall and Noel ship out thousands of the boxes annually and each is still handpacked and overseen by them.
“Our whole philosophy is about bringing our hospitality side to the business. It’s all about the attention to detail,” said Niall.
“We have outsourced elements behind the scenes but we still oversee every box ourselves because we want to make sure that any gift notes are done right and that nothing gets messed up. We have eyes and hands in every box.”
The Blasket Pub has since reopened (yes, they serve Irish breakfast) so Noel and Niall have their hands full. They’re continuing to expand Irish Breakfast Box, however, with a number of family sized and health-orientated versions now available. There’s also an Ulster Fry and treat boxes with chocolate.
“We had the mad idea to send the full kit, which no one else wanted to do because you had to send eggs,” Niall said with a laugh.
“There’s been some trial and error but we’ve figured out how to safely ship everything across the country. And you don’t need to have ever seen an Irish breakfast to enjoy it. The boxes come with full guides with temperatures and a step-by-step instructions.
“We don’t want to cut corners. We make our own meat and have our own recipes; we cut our own bacon; we try to find the freshest stuff we can get. We really try to keep it as authentic as possible.”
For the latest local news and features on Irish America, visit our homepage here.
