The new Genoa Cafe

Ah, I’d say most Athlonians wont’ recognise their town in a few years. Along with the beheamoth and the new town centre, there are innumerable smaller changes happening across the town that are slowly, irrecoverably changing the face of Athlone.

Among these can now be counted the Genoa Cafe which opened yesterday after a major remodel.

It used to be an old-style chipper with a cavernous interior that reminded one of stateside 1950s diners. It was open early and late and served your standard greasy, chipper fare in addition to having an ice-cream counter. Certainly dated, it had a certain dilapidated charm. More than that, it was characteristic – a real icon of Athlone with its home-made ice cream and numerous tables.

The renovation seems to have done away with the tables and restaurant section and converted the premises into a standard tiny, single-counter-design chipper like any other in any other town anywhere in Europe.