The iconic Fun Place joke and costume shop has reopened in Dublin City Centre.
After 40 years in business, the shop on South King Street was forced to close due to lockdown restrictions.
The shutdown of the entertainment industry and the cancellation of Halloween and St Patrick's Day events left the business with "no one to sell to".
Now it has reopened in a new location in Stephen's Green Shopping Centre.
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Co-owner Shay Howlin told Down to Business the success of the vaccination rollout here inspired them to try and reopen following a very tough 18 months.
He said: "With no festivals, no hens, no stages, no events... we'd no-one to sell to really.
"We're very aligned to the entertainment industry - once the entertainment industry was off, we were off."
He said he "absolutely" considered giving it all up, and the whole ordeal was "soul-destroying" - including the day they decided to close their King Street store after decades in business.
When it came to reopening, however, timing was a big factor in their decision, given the rapid time of the shop's busiest time of year: Halloween.
Shay explained: "We started having a look around at some units, and the one in St Stephen's Green popped up... a lovely unit.
"It has given everyone a new lease of life. We're so excited: we think Halloween this year could be bigger than ever.
"People have been starved of craic... I think they're going to embrace it."
There's also "perfect timing" thanks to the planned reopening of nightclubs from October 22nd.
Shay said the global supply shortages and delays have hit their business like many others.
He said Brexit has been a "nightmare", so the shop is working to "bypass the UK" wherever possible and is doing more business with European supplies.
However, he said they've also been lucky as they had large amounts of stock held over from last year - when fresh lockdowns suddenly put an end to many Halloween plans.
