Henrico Small Business Spotlight: Two and a Half Irishmen

Virginia has been home to Niall Duffy for more than a decade. But he didn’t leave his Irish roots behind in Galway. He celebrates his heritage every day with Two and a Half Irishmen.

When Duffy left Ireland to move to Virginia in 2014, the former explosives expert – yes, you read that right – started making Irish treats to pass the time in his new home while applying for a green card.

“My background wasn't in baking,” Duffy said. “I used to work, actually, in explosives, in mines in the Middle East, and breaking rock in the Middle East and mines in South Africa. 

“But when I moved over here, I didn't really want to do that. . . So I just started baking more as a hobby.”

Duffy’s baking became something more once he started bringing his goods to local farmers' markets.

“I didn't expect anything to come out of it other than maybe a pastime because I didn't know any other Irish people here,” Duffy said. 

But once Irish locals got their hands on their favorite treats from the Emerald Isle, Duffy’s business took off and grew into the successful microbakery it is today. 

Since its founding in 2015, Two and a Half Irishmen has been on a mission “to bring a little taste of Ireland here.” To Duffy, that means providing exceptional value to customers and baking breads and scones with fresh ingredients and – perhaps surprisingly to non-Irish folks – the least amount of sugar possible.

“There's generally a lot less sugar in an Irish recipe,” Duffy said. “Because, traditionally in Ireland, sugar was expensive, so you didn't put as much in.”

His overall bestseller? A traditional Irish Guinness gingerbread. But Duffy’s favorite is his traditional Irish Guinness treacle bread. He recommends topping it with butter for breakfast or serving it as a side for your soup.

“Treacle is the same as molasses,” Duffy explained. “It's a brown bread, and it looks very dark, and there's porridge oats through it, and there's no egg. So it's technically a soda bread, but it's a very lovely dark brown bread.

“I grew up with that one, so I'd be more partial to it.”

Duffy’s approximately 170 registered recipes go far beyond Irish soda breads and rock buns. His current offerings include American classics, as well as gluten-free and vegan items. Think everything from coffee chocolate chip cream scones, carrot cake, zucchini bread and chocolate and vanilla marble cake. He also has plenty of seasonal offerings like Virginia peach cobbler cake in the summer, double butter pumpkin bread in the fall, and mince pies around the holidays.

Two and a Half Irishmen also crafts gift boxes for all kinds of life events. You can order tailored boxes for celebrating birthdays, house-warmings, new babies and everything in between. In addition, Duffy sells gift baskets that pay homage to Ireland. 

“There's one called an Irish treasure box, and then we have three versions of it, with the regular, gluten-free and vegan,” Duffy said. “[The regular version] has all Irish breads, and we'll put in an Irish chocolate bar, a packet of cookies and a packet of chips.”

You can shop Two and a Half Irishmen’s extensive menu online and ship to anywhere in the country. Locals can also find Duffy’s products at various retailers across Virginia – check out the list on his website for specific shops. And you can find Two and a Half Irishmen at various festivals and markets throughout the year, including its consistent tent at The RVA Big Market in Bryan Park year-round.

“We still do farmers' markets every week,” Duffy said. “It's a great way to meet new people and also to test new products.”

No matter how you choose to engage with Two and a Half Irishmen, know you’re supporting a family man with a sense of humor. The name for the business came to Duffy after he asked his two boys to be in the logo picture.

“I wanted them to be in the photo, and they said they were in charge,” Duffy said. “And so then it just came out of that – I just had half a say.”

As much as Duffy likes to joke about his boys taking over the business, he’s done everything in his power to manage a work life balance so that he can spend as much time with them, his daughter and his wife. He even outfitted his home basement into a commercial kitchen to allow for as much family time as possible.

“I wasn't really into owning a shop,” Duffy said. “You'd end up living there all the time and you'd never see family.”

For details, visit Two and a Half Irishmen's website or follow the company on Instagram.

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