A growing appetite for food delivered home during the pandemic helped the Kovid-19 recession to hit a family-owned restaurant business create 45 new jobs.

The growing demand for takeaway food among Irish families prompted Romeo to open three new lets toilets in suburban Dublin.

The network currently employs 280 people in 19 locations in Dublin, Meath, Ofali and Kildare.

Founded in 1959 as McCarthy’s chip shops, the company was renamed Romanio in 2012, when it turned its attention to diner – based food.

A new food storage and distribution headquarters in the capital’s Rosemount Business Park is one of its highlights.

Romeo Managing Director Dominique McCarthy said the strategic decision to expand their home delivery services at the turn of the century has put the business in a better position to adapt to changed customer habits in the health emergency.

“For the last 20 years we have focused a lot on setting up a home delivery service, which in the current situation has paid off for the business,” he said.

In the current Kovid-19 climate, people know they are growing and have returned to businesses that are comfortable for them.

“As a result, we found that people who grew up young in our original areas are now moving to the new suburbs, leading to a consumer base.”

Makari runs the business with her four children. He said 45 jobs would be created in the next 12 months.

“It’s unusual for everyone, especially those in the restaurant business, to talk about extension during these very difficult times,” he said.

“However, we always want to take a long-term view and be sure that Ireland will fully recover from its current situation.”