The Irish Chipper Opens
CULLMAN – Cullman is getting a taste of Ireland with the opening of The Irish Chipper. This charming new restaurant is located downtown, next to The Downtown Grill, and is open for lunch.
Owners Doris and Martin Merriman are pleased to bring a glimpse of Martin’s culture to our town. Martin grew up in Dublin, Ireland, but has been living in Cullman for years. The Merrimans have been talking about opening a restaurant for several years.
“We have a big family,” said Doris. “Martin has five children, I have four children, and we each have nine grandchildren, so I cook a lot. He and several other people have told me I should start a restaurant, so we talked about it and finally we heard that this building was going to be available so we thought now was the time to do this.”
The Merrimans knew they wanted to open an Irish restaurant, and Martin said if they were going to do it, they had to do it right. So, the first order of business was to experiment with recipes until they were authentic Irish.
“We worked on several recipes to make sure it tasted good and authentic. American flour isn’t as coarse as Irish flour so I had to work with that to get the Irish bread right, and I had to make sure I knew how to make authentic Irish batter. All of our Irish dishes are completely authentic.”
Martin and Doris have noticed that most restaurants in Cullman cater to the southern taste. These restaurant owners want to give Cullmanites more options for eating out.
“We observed over the years that if a restaurant opens in Cullman, basically everyone will give it a try,” said Doris. “We thought if we get the food right, people will try it and like it. So far it’s been good and hopefully that will continue.”
The process of opening The Irish Chipper was tough and time consuming, but the Merrimans are happy to be open.
“Just ticking off the boxes and getting everything together took a long time,” stated Doris. “It took a little longer than we thought it would, but we’re glad to finally get the doors open.”
The Irish Chipper is currently open for lunch only, but the Merrimans hope to soon open for dinner.
“We hope to get six or eight weeks under our belt and then start opening on Friday and Saturday nights for dinner. We’ll continue the menu as it is but we might add surf and turf along with fish and chips to give another option those nights.”
They also hope to offer delivery service in the future and one day outgrow their current location.
At The Irish Chipper, one half of the menu is American and the other half is authentic Irish.
“The fish and chips is what everyone is going crazy for,” said Doris. “People also love the chicken balls. Someone tried it and said it was the best thing they’ve ever had. It’s chunks of chicken breast marinated then rolled in seasoned flour and then put in the batter and deep fried.”
They also have authentic Sheppard’s Pie with ground beef, seasoned bread crumbs, eggs, cheese, peas, carrots and potatoes.
“You’ve got a whole meal in one,” said Doris.
Doris also makes homemade banana pudding, chocolate cake and strawberry cake.
“The strawberry cake has strawberry glaze you put in pie,” she said. “So it has that strawberry flavor all the way through.”
Martin and Doris have had several calls about their battered burger lately.
“ It’s not served with any bread,” said Doris. “You can eat it with a knife and fork or just pick it up, because it’s covered in batter.”
The Irish Chipper is located in the old Local Standard building. It’s a charming space with beautiful ceilings. The walls are lined with pictures of Ireland that Doris took herself.
“I lived in Ireland for five years, so I have a ton of them,” she said. “We blew them up, just thought it would add to the atmosphere.”
And as if this restaurant couldn’t get more charming, as you walk in you will be greeted by the servers saying “C’ead mile failte”, which means “a hundred thousand welcomes” in Gaelic.
So far, Doris and Martin are enjoying their new restaurant as they get into the swing of the business.
“So far, so good,” said Doris. “I’ve been very happy with the turn out. We’ve had one couple who has come everyday for lunch, so I think they like it.”
The Irish Chipper is open from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Be sure to visit them and get a taste of Ireland.
This story was originally published in the October 6, 2014 issue of CullmanSense print edition
