Sofie Rooney

About Sofie Rooney

Tell us about your education and early career
I did my undergrad in communications in DCU. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do when I left school so that was a good degree as a foundation as it’s so broad. When I graduated in 2011 in the middle of a recession, I had to face the harsh reality that nobody wanted to employ me so I did a couple of internships in digital media, marketing and branding and really enjoyed that. The following year I did a master’s in marketing in Smurfit, which I loved. After graduating I started working in the marketing department for the Sherry Fitzgerald countrywide branches. It was a great opportunity to learn about marketing strategies that work for a franchise-led business, particularly at a very challenging time for the Irish economy – we had to always be creative with budgets coming out of the recession.

I moved to San Francisco in 2014 and worked with another real estate firm there called Pacific Union – it’s since been rebranded as Compass. That was a completely different kettle of fish – I don’t think there were any listings under a million dollars. The budgets were massive – it was very interesting and exciting to be part of that. When I came back to Ireland a couple of years later to try to renew my visa I continued working for Pacific Union remotely. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a visa to go back so I moved to Neworld, a branding agency where I had previously interned. My role there was brand strategist and involved working with brands to help them understand what they’re all about, what makes them different and the way in which they communicate it through their messaging and their copy. As well as working with bigger companies – many of them in hospitality and FMCG – I worked with many small start-up brands. We did a lot of work through Bord Bia helping artisan companies rebrand and through this I got to meet the people who started the brands and learn what inspired them. I found that very inspiring. At the same time my partner Garret – who’s a brewer and a chef – and I were always talking about how we’d love to open a restaurant one day and what we’d do and so on. Lots of people have these conversations, and we were just another two of them.

Then we went to Korea for my cousin’s wedding in 2016. My cousin said we had to try Korean fried chicken while we were there – we fell head over heels with the concept of chimaek. Chimaek is a compound word which literally means fried chicken and beer. It’s a Korean cultural phenomenon which sees much of the population coming together with friends or family over fried chicken and beer.  A popular theory goes that with so many American soldiers stationed in Korea in the 1970s, the Koreans developed recipes for fried chicken and established restaurants near army camps in Daegu to cater for these American customers. From there something very special was born!

At the time there weren’t any fried chicken restaurants in Dublin and we saw a huge gap in the market. It took us about three years from when we went to Korea to opening our first restaurant – Chimac on Aungier Street – in May 2019. We both quit our jobs and spent almost a year working full time to get everything in place to open it. We had aimed for a soft opening but that did not happen – a couple of media outlets and online influencers came in during the first couple of days with the result that we were thronged from the start. That was amazing but we definitely weren’t ready for it so it felt like the craziest period of my life. It was very intense but great fun as well. It was all going wonderfully when the pandemic shut everything down. Garret and I ran Chimac as a takeaway on our own for a while amid fears of Covid, but thankfully then had the chance to bring some long standing staff back onboard.

This time also kickstarted another business. We have three main sauces in the restaurant and always had the idea that we might do something with them. When we started getting messages asking for the recipes we decided to try to sell the sauces, initially through Deliveroo and then independent retailers got in touch saying they’d love to stock them in their shops. We launched the range in summer 2021 without thinking the whole concept through too much. We saw it as a little side project while we weren’t able to open up the restaurant but it’s just grown and become its own business. At this stage we’re in over 250 independent retailers in Ireland and have just launched in SuperValu Food Academy. We also launched in the UK in November and are now in about 80 retailers over there as well, including Selfridges. We also opened a second Chimac restaurant in Terenure last October.

What is your role?
I have a multifaceted role. I’m mainly focused on operations and marketing. I also oversee management of both of the restaurants, and you can often find me working in either location. Garret looks after the ongoing management of our menus, the logistics and production of the sauces. My job is basically to promote everything we’re doing, and all of the amazing new menu items he has developed. We are always collaborating on the strategy of the businesses – the restaurants and the sauce business, and what is next for us. Both of our roles are very hands on, and span a lot of different areas but I guess owning your own business that is a non-negotiable.

What motivates you?
I love what we do and really believe the food in our restaurants and our products are very special. I want to promote the business and to see it grow as much as possible and reach its potential. I also want people in our business to have the opportunity to grow in their own roles and develop their careers. The more the business grows the more new roles we can create.

The hospitality business is not for the faint hearted. You have to be in it for the love of it. It’s a very competitive market and a challenging backdrop with constant price increases. However, the way I see it is that somebody is going to have success in this business and why should it not be us – I believe so much in what we do.

How would you describe your leadership style?
I would like to say I definitely lead by example. That’s something I’ve always found important when being managed by other people. I think having a feeling of inclusivity in the workplace is very important, I always want staff to feel like they’re involved in decision making, and that they can make an impact. I am very happy to delegate and always see huge value in being able to learn from everyone who works in Chimac – they are all experts in what they do.

Who or what has inspired or influenced you?
I’ve had the opportunity to have had brilliant mentors via Enterprise Ireland’s New Frontiers Programme, Local Enterprise Office mentoring programmes and KPMG’s Going for Growth female entrepreneur programme.
In addition, Garret and I both worked in Bunsen from its very first day and getting to learn from Finn and Tom Gleeson who set it up, and see how they started such an impressive business model was very motivating. I feel they’ve really carved out an unique space for themselves and are very strong in the market.

Is ongoing learning important to you?
Yes, definitely. I recently took part in Enterprise Ireland’s New Frontiers programme and that was amazing, as well as KPMG’s Going for Growth female entrepreneur programme. It’s so important for me to have an opportunity to continuously improve and learn about where I can improve my own skills, and figure out the processes that might help us achieve our business goals. I feel no matter what stage you’re at in your career you can continue to benefit from mentors and learning new skills and further developing what you can do. And, if I’m learning skills in a particular area I can also pass that knowledge on to everyone else in the organisation.

What career advice would you give?
My advice would be to just do it, to go for it right now. It’s one thing to have great ideas but another to actually turn your thoughts into a plan. Setting a goal and working back to the specific individual actions you would have to do to achieve it will help so much. And always ask for help – it’s there in buckets, and people are so kind with their time.

What do you feel has been your biggest achievement?
It was pretty amazing when we got the Guardian newspaper one Saturday earlier this year and we opened the magazine to find our Chimac Korean Hot Sauce was included as one of 40 little luxuries to lift the mood. We hadn’t done any marketing or PR in the UK at that stage so it was pretty amazing and we’re very proud of that.

What are your plans going forward?
We’re pretty focused on building up Chimac in Terenure at the moment but would love to open another restaurant, maybe in Cork or Galway or somewhere else in Ireland. In terms of the sauces, I feel there’s so much opportunity in the UK so I’d really love to see what we can do there and if we can replicate the success we’ve had in Ireland. It’s a big job and it really excites me.

Insight Track

How has your UCD degree benefited your career?
The degree had such a great reputation I found it so beneficial in job interviews, and even securing the interviews. The learnings I have got from the marketing master’s still inform my decisions today.

What is your fondest memory from your time in UCD Smurfit?
Class nights out and holidays!

How important is your UCD alumni network to you?
So essential – on so many occasions I have reached out about specific business contacts, and also connecting individuals looking to hire or be hired.

What are your main interests outside work?
Travelling and eating out.

What piece of technology can you not live without?
I would happily live without it all.

What are your pet hates?
Being late, and people who are late.

What’s your favourite book?
The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide.

What’s the last gig/play/film/exhibition you went to that you loved?
Other Voices in Dingle was magical.

What is your favourite dish to cook?
I like it best when my chef husband cooks for me!

What is your favourite place in the world to visit and why?
Japan – it’s such an amazing immersive culture and the food!

Where is home and why?
Portobello, Dublin 8 – equidistant to both restaurants but also my favourite neighbourhood ever.

What charities or causes are closest to your heart?
Focus Ireland, Peter McVerry Trust and Merchants Quay Ireland. Working in the city
centre it is highly evident just how much of an issue homelessness is. We donate
meals to the homeless so have gotten to know many of the locals, and the need for
support is huge.

July 2023