Liam McMahon in Belfast: SPAR Twin Spires

Twin Spires sits in an unusual spot for a convenience store: close enough to Belfast city centre for a workday stop, but with parking and a forecourt you would never get in town.

Northumberland Street connects two of Belfast’s best-known roads, and the Twin Spires Complex has become a working hub of offices, units and small businesses on that route. A store serving that kind of location has a particular rhythm to it. The early hours belong to people starting shifts and drivers fuelling up. Mid-morning is coffee and bakery. Lunchtime is hot food and meal deals for people working in and around the complex. Evening is the top-up shop on the way home.

Opening at six in the morning every day, including Sundays, is what makes that rhythm work. So is baking on the premises — at that hour, the difference between fresh bread and delivered bread is not a marketing point, it is the entire reason somebody stops.

Getting here

The store is at Unit 17–21, Twin Spires Complex, 155 Northumberland Street, Belfast, BT13 2JF, with parking inside the complex and a fuel forecourt on site. It is a few minutes from Belfast city centre and sits close to the Westlink, making it a practical stop on the way in or out of town. Satnav users should use the postcode BT13 2JF.

At a glance

• Store: SPAR Twin Spires, owned and run by Liam McMahon
• Address: Unit 17–21 Twin Spires Complex, 155 Northumberland Street, Belfast, BT13 2JF
• Telephone: 028 9013 9273
• Hours: 6:00am – 9:00pm, seven days a week
• Key services: in-store bakery, barista bar, hot food, fuel, ATM, cash back, parking

Full store information, or read about SPAR in Northern Ireland.