The owners of Bewley's cafés have rejected an offer from the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Michael Conaghan, to discuss a survival package for the Grafton Street café before its closure next week.
In a letter sent to Cllr Conaghan this week the Campbell Bewley Group, owners of the Dublin cafés, said they would not be able to meet the committee organised to save the cafés in the short term.
They said however, that they might be able to arrange a meeting at a later date.
Cllr Conaghan had written to the company on behalf of the Save Bewley's Cafés Committee, organised following the recent announcement of the closure of the cafés on Grafton Street and Westmoreland Street in Dublin's city centre.
Cllr Conaghan made a number of proposals aimed at keeping the cafés open.
These included the possibility of a public private partnership, and he and the committee had asked the owners to hold discussions with them.
Speaking to The Irish Times last night, Cllr Conaghan said he had not had time to fully digest the contents of the company's reply, but it broadly outlined the financial reasons for the closures.
However, Cllr Conaghan said he believed it left some room for future talks.
"It would be inaccurate to say they were very dismissive of our offer of talks, but they said they could not meet us right away." The committee is to hold a public meeting outside the Grafton Street café at 11 a.m. today to rally public support for the campaign.
