Lacada is ten years old. I’ve been here, in various capacities, for nine of them. I can safely say we’ve never had a year as transformative as 2025.

As I reflect on the past 12 months I note the stark, atmospheric shift which has occurred throughout the co-operative; in which a period of prolonged uncertainty has been alchemically altered into a palpable sense of optimism and hope. Thinking about it too hard runs the risk of psychological whiplash, so here’s a meandering tale about trees and mushrooms to take the edge off…

You may have heard of the method by which trees “talk” to one another - the "Wood Wide Web" is the underground network of fungi that connect tree roots, allowing them to share nutrients, send chemical signals, and form a vast communication system in forests. The fungi do this by establishing what are known as “rhizomes”.

Rhizomes are dense, root-like fungal structures that help this network expand, acting as superhighways for nutrient and information transfer, essential for forest health, wherein trees support one-another. Individual and collective care simultaneously.

Am I saying that we’re nothing more than a collective of large, dense, roots? That’s up for you to decide. But back to the point…

Lacada has spent a great deal of time this year “rhizoming”. Spreading our influence far and wide, largely underground, as we establish these unseen connections, which strengthen our entire ecosystem.

We’ve done this through our taproom, directly engaging with not only our customers, but also each other. Through our social media, which has generated no less than half a million views over the Christmas period, with over half of our patrons citing it as the reason for their visit at the weekend. Most importantly, though, through our relentless, indomitable, sanguine, good old fashioned team work. Or, as granny would say, just being “thran”.

With every challenge that presented itself this year, we worked collectively to quickly and resolutely solve it. Not enough seating in the taproom? No bother to Tommy, who quickly sourced, and indeed reinforced our many tables and benches. There’s overwhelming off-sales demand on Friday you say? Well, up-stood Ronnie, ready to bullishly tackle the oncoming crowds. There’s a labyrinthian bureaucratic jungle to navigate before you’ll so much as stand a chance at receiving that grant? Wee buns for our resident masterminded, jargon-busting, sleuth that is Lesley.

Part of the trouble in writing something like this is the admittedly, quite pleasant, problem-to-have in that there are now so many individuals to thank that if I did name them all individually I’d be in the business of writing the world’s most complimentary and cloying novella.

One person who should certainly get a special mention, however, is Jack - who has undoubtedly worked now hundreds of volunteer hours in a myriad of different ways; manning the taproom, nano-brewing, fixing chiller units, canning, coding, posting, packing, cycling to the post office with a quite frankly insane number of boxes stacked on the pannier… legends say he once wheelied all the way to the post office, uphill!

This list of often thankless labour that Jack has so readily endured has served as an inspirational catalyst for the rest of us. It points away from the doldrums of 23/24 and toward a beacon of hope illuminating the now possible futures ahead for us. As he often quips: “it’s a whole new era!”.

We’re already a community hub, and though that has enormous value in itself, I do still see unrealised potential. The North Coast’s live entertainment scene has been dealt back to back grievous blows with the closure of the Atlantic Bar and the Riverside Theatre. My hope for the next year is that Lacada can become a spiritual successor to these venues, a home to burgeoning creatives; live music, comedy. With the acquisition of an entertainment license a distinct possibility this year (and perhaps some re-jigging of the layout & additional seating) this is within our grasp. At the very least I’d like to see galleries, vinyl fairs, craft markets, pub quizzes… quirky nuances to revivify what was lost, and to foster and nurture what we already have.

Make Portrush Cool Again.

Though the next eight weeks will be difficult, as they always are, 2026 holds unprecedented promise - and as the rhizomes establish their fruiting bodies, so too shall Lacada bare-fruit, and continue to evolve into something new, something better.

It’s been ten years, yes, but we’re only getting started.

Excelsior.

Sam Kane Head Brewer/Employee Director