North Belfast is full of stories about community and kindness — and Jane Adams has one that starts with family, sport and a whole lot of pizza.
She’s been an All-Ireland winning camogie captain, a two-time All-Star, a businesswoman, a community worker — and now she’s the woman behind the counter at Pizza Crew on the Antrim Road. But ask Jane what really matters and she doesn’t hesitate: “Family. Always family.”
That sense of family has been baked into Jane’s life since childhood. While other kids were ripping open presents on Christmas morning, Jane and her sisters were serving customers in their dad Dougie’s shop so staff could enjoy the day off. “We saw it all as an adventure,” she laughs. “Daddy taught us about hard work, and mummy? She was the soul of everything.”
Those lessons stuck. By the time Jane was 20, she and her younger sister Laura were running Manny’s, a beloved local chip shop on the Antrim Road. Over the years, the Adams girls built up a string of businesses, never forgetting the people behind the till or across the counter. Families in need quietly received food vouchers. Young footballers got sponsorships. Teenagers found their first jobs and a bit of confidence along the way.
It was that spirit of community that drew Jane to Pizza Crew in 2020. Founder Ciaran Kelly — who just happens to be a World Pizza Champion — shared her passion for food and people. “His energy was infectious,” Jane says. “I just knew it was going to work. And honestly, I’ve loved every single day since.”
The Antrim Road store quickly became more than a takeaway. It’s a meeting place, a sponsor of local sports teams, a cheerleader for young athletes, and a source of jobs for local people. As Jane puts it: “We give where we live.”
But 2025 has been bittersweet. Earlier this year, Jane’s mummy Bernadette lost a short, fierce battle with cancer. She was just 66. Jane said: “She was everything to us. She held us all together. Words just aren’t enough.”
To honour her mummy’s memory, Jane has set herself a challenge as big as any sporting final: running all six of the World Marathon Majors — Boston, Tokyo, New York, Chicago, London and Berlin. “Every step is for her,” she says. “When I’m struggling, I hear her voice pushing me on.”
Through it all — sport, business, heartbreak and hustle — Jane has held onto one simple belief: if you look after people, the rest will follow. And at Pizza Crew, you can taste that in every slice.
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