Belfast institution celebrates 30 years of Ulster fries, milkshakes and family (2025)

What started as one little cafe on Botanic Avenue has turned into one of Belfast's most beloved institutions, serving up hearty feeds from the heart.

Maggie Mays is celebrating 30 years of business in Belfast - from humble beginnings to four premises across the city, it is hard to find someone who doesn't know about Maggie's legendary Ulster fries.

Owned by husband and wife duo Moya and John Pollins, the business is very much a family affair as all three of their daughters have proudly worn the Maggie Mays apron over the last three decades.

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After a day of celebrating its big birthday on Thursday by giving back to all its loyal customers, Belfast Live stopped by Maggie Mays on the Malone Road to chat to Moya and her daughters Meghann and Shannon about what this milestone means to them.

Back in 1995 as a young and newly married couple, Moya and John knew they wanted to start a business they could call their own and purchased a small cafe unit in the heart of the student area of South Belfast.

They would have never expected that 30 years on, Maggie Mays would become an institution for those living and working in the area and a legendary spot for those looking to cure a hangover with good food and even better milkshakes.

Moya said: "It's always been a family business because it's been me, my husband and our girls working here. It's always been a really pleasant business to own, always busy with friendly faces.

"We've always been very proud of Maggies and it's an honour for my husband and I to have our family working in the business with us.

"People calling us an institution is an honour and is lovely to hear because it reminds us that this is why we have fought so hard for this business."

Generations of faces have passed through the doors at Maggie Mays and Meghann said that knowing that people love coming back and bringing their loved ones is a special feeling for the whole team.

"Mum has met people who first came in as students and then seen them get married and bring their kids and now their kids are going to university and telling us about their parents who came in when they studied," Meghann said.

"That's three generations coming in and seeing us. It means a lot and we are very proud."

Family is at the heart of the business, and Meghann and Shannon have been helping their parents with the running of Maggie Mays since they were both in their teens and wouldn't have it any other way.

Moya also credited the appeal and success of Maggie Mays to the long-serving staff who now feel like her family too and thanked them for their passion for the business still to this day.

She continued: "Our staff are very supportive of us and they are part of the family - they treat us with a lot of respect and we treat them with it too, that's why so many have been with us for a very long time.

"We have a very close relationship with them and it's important to me that I know everyone's names, the details about their lives because Maggie Mays is all about the people and that's what has kept us going for so long."

Despite Maggie May's success story, the family shared how difficult the impact of the pandemic was on their business, like many others across the city and how at points, they weren't sure whether it would reach its big 30th birthday.

Moya said: "Things have been difficult since Covid - I felt very disappointed with our government because our industry faced so many struggles and no one seemed to care and some still don't seem to care.

"Last year, we thought that we may have had to close up because it really was a struggle but if it wasn't for our fantastic staff who we have had working for us for a very long time and our brilliant customers, we may have not made it.

"We've had to give up a lot to keep the business afloat and it's been very very hard but it's good that we are getting back and still seeing customers come through the door.

"There were times when I wanted to run away but we've kept fighting because it does mean a lot to us and the people mean a lot to us."

As the family and staff work hard to continue their legacy in the city after the hard times, Meghann and Shannon will be there working hard to hopefully take Maggie Mays to the next 30 years when Moya and John decide to retire.

Meghann added: "We have so many amazing customers that have supported us over the last 30 years. We've had customers come to our weddings, customers buying me gifts after I bought my first house - things that are so sweet because you've built this relationship with them.

"It may be over a coffee and a fry but you get to know them on a whole different level."

The business is also passionate about giving back to the community that made them the popular spot they have become - whether it be opening on Christmas Day to offer a place for those spending the holiday alone, giving food to non-government funded charities, and more.

Reflecting on three decades of Maggie Mays, Moya is proud to see how it has grown and to celebrate how strong her family has been in fighting to keep the cafes going for all their loyal customers

"It's been eventful - from bomb scares to proposals - lots of things have happened in Maggies and they are all memorable and I just can't believe it's been 30 years.

"It started from nothing, we hadn't two pennies to rub together but we worked day and night and built something great."

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