New refill shop for Lisburn promises community and sustainability

Named after the Irish Gaelic word for happiness, Sonas co-op in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, is the city’s first zero waste loose food refill store, café and event space.

Opening in Spring 2023, Sonas was the brainchild of a group of local people with a clear vision – to create a go-to destination for sustainable local shopping, food and friendship.

“Our aim to is to be a place of welcome, learning and growing where anyone can engage with food,” explained co-founder Julie Hooey.

“People are becoming more interested in where food comes from and Sonas will give them the chance to engage with local food producers, understand food production and fix the links that have been broken between food producers and consumers.”

Creating community, stimulating local business and promoting sustainability are also central to the Sonas mission.

“We are focused on being a significant part of the local community,” Julie continued. “Being a part of our place matters to us and having directors who are committed to Lisburn and wanting it to flourish is important.”

To that end, the co-op’s seven founder members are planning to use their event space for a range of activities. “It will be available for different groups in the community to use,” Julie explained. “We’ve got quite a lot of people who can teach sustainable ways of living, how to make good food from scratch, mend clothes and upcycle textiles.

“We have other plans for hosting a repair café and allowing people the opportunity to swap things instead of throwing them away or buying new. All those things will be part of the shop strategy once we get up and running.”

Julie and her colleagues set up Sonas thanks to help from Co-operatives UK’s business support programme, delivered in partnership with The Co-operative Bank.

“Realising that existed was just really good,” Julie said. “When you start a business, you have to learn to ask for the help you need. We were delighted when we got accepted on the programme.”

Their support came in the form of expert consultancy from co-operative advisor Tiziana O’Hara. “She cheered us on and helped us take each new step,” added Julie. “Tiziana is responsive and we’ve been able to ask questions, have honest conversations and have access to useful resources that help us know what to do.”

Now, even before opening, Sonas is looking to support and collaborate with other co-ops.

“We’ve reached out to a greengrocer co-operative that’s in the early stages of setting up in Carrickfergus. We want to explore if we could buy wholesale together,” added Julie.

“I’m really inspired by businesses lifting up other business and creating a buzz in a city centre. We aim to create a place where people want to come, and to animate the city centre to open up opportunities for other businesses. We want to be a positive and hopeful presence on the high street.”