Conversations With… Mickey McElroy

From the days of McElroys on Castle Street to the creation of Main Street, Rooms at Rue and now the newly opened Hotel Rue, Mickey McElroy has spent almost five decades shaping Omagh’s hospitality and entertainment scene – and in this conversation, we sat down with him to talk about the journey so far, the people behind it and his vision for the future.

Q.Firstly Mickey can you tell us about the journey from Main Street, to Rooms at Rue to now, Hotel Rue?

Mickey: First of all the journey started long before that, I can’t put in half a journey, the journey started 48 years ago when I bought my first pub, and progressed then a few years later to what was then known as McElroys on Castle Street for 30 odd years, a very successful and very busy place, and at that time you know, that area of the town was the hub of the town, because the whole town was closed off, there was no entertainment, nothing in the middle of the town, so that’s where we made our mark. We had a great time in Castle Street (we agree with this statement wholeheartedly, being of the era where we spent our weekends at that very nightclub)

I saw that as the troubles ended, the town centre was the place to be. So, I think it was round the late 90s, we purchased the then derelict Royal Arms Hotel, and a lot of other properties around it, so here we had this massive property and the decision we had to make was what are we going to do with it? We knew we were going to develop it, but we had three main thoughts, obviously to toss everything, apart from the front wall which was listed, and 1 build a brand new state of the art hotel, 2 create a box, something similar to Primark, or 3 build a street, I think I let my heart rule my head on that one, I wanted to build a street, and that’s what we built.

We didn’t go down the line of hospitality in it, like all other developers round that time we were developing it for retail, retail was hot hot hot, don’t even think there was an Amazon then. So, we built the street and opened it in the year 2002, mostly as retail, we had some hospitality in it for a few years and then 20 years ago we built Rue, and anyone about then would know what it was like, entertainment focused, and since that Rue has progressed to being very much a hospitality food outlet. Then 2007/2008 came the crash, the retailers started dropping like flies, so, you must make your property work, and I wasn’t going to have derelict property laying all over the street with tumbleweed gathering, so we decided to advance on what we were already doing hospitality wise, and over the years we have created Sean Ogs, Dempseys and so on. Then about 7/8 years ago I decided that we should give accommodation a go, so we built a number of bedrooms.  They were a relative success but it became obvious that we needed to be a hotel, and to be a hotel you have to have all the facilities of a hotel, so last year we built more rooms, bringing it up to 23.  I’m pleased to say once the Tourist Board visited us they immediately gave us our Tourist Board Certificate. Since then, we have progressed on. We had Poundland here, a great tenant, but the lease was up and I wanted to really work at the hospitality business, so Poundland moved out in December and I set about designing this here what you have now where you’re sitting, and it’s up and ready for opening.

Q.We ask Olivia what opportunities they see Hotel Rue and the Business Complex creating for Omagh?

First of all, it brings new jobs, and I’m very grateful for that. It also brings new business to the street. I call it a one-stop shop: we have parking, accommodation, a restaurant and entertainment in the bars, all in one place.

The conference and events centre will host weddings, dinner dances, conferences and meetings. We have five meeting rooms, two function suites and a large reception area for drinks. Guests can also choose to dine here or in the restaurant. There are so many options for anyone holding an event, and we’re really looking forward to what’s ahead. The response has already been encouraging, and we’ve only been open a week.

We talk about how Hotel Rue has really finished Main Street off, aesthetically it is fabulous and brings a beautiful finish to the street.

Q.The appetite for visitors and to bring visitors to the area is huge, what do you think Hotel Rue brings to the town’s tourism and hospitality offering?

Mickey tells us that since becoming a hotel that their room uptake has doubled, “people from all over the world, tourists, business people, we’re booked out most nights. We’ve plans afoot for next year to build another 14 bedrooms in one part of the street and another 3 in another to bring us up to 40 rooms.

We’re linking with bus tour companies, local attractions and businesses and providing a great experience for visitors to the region, the development of Hotel Rue means that visitors now have a town centre hotel accommodation offering that was never there before, and the bonus of having various food and entertainment options on the doorstep, it’s win win for visitors and for the town centre.”

Q.How important is it for Hotel Rue to work alongside other local tourism and hospitality businesses to encourage visitors to stay and explore more of the area?

It’s so very important, whatever channel we can use, we’ll use it, we’ve built relationships and continue to build relationships, for a long time I suppose we were seen as publicans not hoteliers until now, and it’s a whole different vision for us now, even the future plans we have.  Mickey talks very positively about the Strule Arts Centre, “they’re doing a great job, we’re seeing people coming to dine here before shows and we’re getting people staying here. We promote the shows and encourage people to come and enjoy all Omagh has to offer. We mention as many businesses in the town as we can to promote the area to tourists. The whole town must work at this, no one can do it on their own, or against anyone, it’s all about collaboration, we all have to work at bringing tourists in.”

Q.Main Street has become well known for bringing events and experiences to Omagh, including the Omagh Eats Food & Drink Festival. What role do you think events play in creating a buzz around the town and attracting both locals and visitors?

Events are absolutely vital for creating a buzz, they bring people, and people bring people, we’re trying to create a tourism culture in Omagh, and events are vital for this.

The local shops here definitely see an increase in business when there are events running, the jewellers beside us here are an example of that.

We’d like to see a bigger budget for bringing more events to the town, we do our very best but we can’t do it alone, we need that support.

Q.What are you most excited about as Hotel Rue enters this next chapter?

“Oh God I don’t know, I don’t ever get too excited” We have a good laugh at this before Mickey chats about the next chapter, that being the new rooms and the events centre that we’re sitting in, “it’s about making it work, it’s ok building it, but it’s got to now work, and it’s got to be made work, it’s hard work, and people like Olivia here, they’re the anchors for making that work, I can’t do that on my own, the days of build it and they’ll come are long gone.

Q.What would you say to someone who is considering Omagh for a short break or weekend away?

“No better town to go to” a short one liner from Mickey for this question but it says it all.

Q.And if you had to describe Hotel Rue in three words, what would they be?

“Service, service, service.” This sums up what we’ve found from we entered the door, the level of service, the care that is given and the attention to detail in Hotel Rue are perfection, and it’s very clear that Mickey and the team in Rue place service as their main priority.

Q.What about the family side of things Mickey, obviously your daughter is working here, and she showed us around when we came, there’s a real family feel about the business can you tell us about that?

It’s a family business but it’s more than a family business, it’s everybody’s business, it’s every member of staff.  I was so proud, we had a wedding there on Friday, and what I was really proud of was our staff, unknown to me, they had been practising away, with their speeches, with their introductions for the bridal party, they had got themselves all kitted out in new uniforms, and the whole thing ran like clockwork, because they had practiced, and you know what, I didn’t tell them to practice, they wanted to practise, because they wanted it to be a success. If you have people like that around you they all feel like family, it’s everyone’s business, and everyone needs the success and everyone relishes in the success. There are so many loyal people here, we have the likes of Charlie who’s here 38 nearly 39 years.

And as well as the great staff what we’re relying on is our customers, and we need our customers and that’s why “service, service, service” comes into it.

Q.You must be proud Mickey of everything you’ve achieved when you look around?

Pride doesn’t really come into it for me, it’s more satisfaction, but yesterday’s gone, today’s a new day and you start every morning fresh and away you go again and that’s the way it is.

We joke with Mickey that he has no notion of slowing down, he says “no notion at all, God will do that”

As our conversation with Mickey came to an end, there was one small word that stayed with us – “we”.

From the very beginning of our conversation, Mickey spoke about Hotel Rue and the wider business as “we”. Never “I”, always “we”. And when we asked him about the family side of the business, his answer perhaps summed up his entire approach better than anything else could: “It’s a family business, but it’s more than a family business, it’s everybody’s business.”

That sense of togetherness runs through everything Mickey has created. It is there in the staff who have dedicated decades to the business, in the team who practise together to make sure a wedding runs perfectly, in the businesses along Main Street, and in the wider hospitality, tourism and entertainment community that he is so passionate about bringing together.

Because Mickey’s impact reaches far beyond the doors of Hotel Rue. What began with a vision to breathe life into a derelict part of Omagh town centre has grown into Main Street – a destination in its own right, now proudly home to Hotel Rue. Over the years, the entertainment, food, events and hospitality offering has continued to evolve, creating reasons for people to come into Omagh, stay a little longer, meet up, celebrate, dine, enjoy a show and experience more of what the town and the wider Omagh and Sperrins region has to offer.

And that is perhaps the most important part of Mickey’s story. He hasn’t simply built businesses; he has helped build a sense of place. He has created spaces where people gather, memories are made and, importantly, where visitors have a reason to choose Omagh.

His belief that “the whole town has to work at this” is one that resonates strongly with us at Explore Omagh & Sperrins. Tourism is not built by one business alone. It is built by people working together, sharing the spotlight, supporting one another and believing in the place they call home.

Mickey may say that pride doesn’t really come into it – that yesterday is gone, today is a new day and you simply start again. But looking around Main Street, looking at Hotel Rue and considering the mark he has made on Omagh and the wider region, it is hard not to feel a deep sense of pride on his behalf.

And perhaps that is the real legacy of Mickey McElroy: not simply what he has built, but the people he has brought with him, the opportunities he has created and the belief he continues to have in Omagh.

“Service, service, service.”

“We.”

“Everybody’s business.”

Three simple sentiments that say an awful lot about the man behind Hotel Rue – and about the future he continues to build, one day at a time.