EAGLEBY, Australia – Zarraffa’s will open the first purpose-built location in the Perth suburb of Clarkson, while on the other side of the country, will make its initial foray into greater Sydney with an opening in the suburb of Bankstown.
CEO Marnie Sheldon, said that while the two locations were diverse in demographic profiles and located 4,000 kilometres apart, Australia’s appetite for quality coffee could not be denied.
“We’ve long set our sights on migrating from the company’s Queensland roots, established over two decades ago, into the coffee-loving market of New South Wales and further into the West.”
The 2012 purchase of an existing coffee chain in Western Australia delivered an instant footprint across suburban Perth and Kalgoorlie with the latest opening bringing the number of drive thrus to six.
“We have enjoyed a loyal following in the West with locals embracing our particular brand of coffee, designed to be customised to any individual taste.”
“The Clarkson store signifies the first of our traditional drive thru sites that customers in the East would be more familiar with and will be run by experienced franchisees.”
Paul and Jennifer Meyler relocated from Queensland in 2014 after operating a Zarraffa’s store in Brisbane for eight years and are practiced at hitting the ground running.
“We literally packed up our lives in Queensland five years ago, drove across the Nullarbor Plain and opened the doors to the Ellenbrook and Calamvale stores within a month,” said Mr Meyler.
“Clarkson represents an opportunity to introduce coffee drinkers to a full Zarraffa’s store experience; with a comfortable instore environment and a full-service drive thru.”
The Bankstown, NSW store opening represents the fourth under the NSW Area Developer (AD) arrangement, steered by experienced franchisees and ADs – Ben Old and Dion Sholz.
“Ben and Dion have been spearheading the drive for new locations and expansion in New South Wales and had a successful foray with the Belmont North (Newcastle) store in 2017.”
“Finding the right site and franchisee is critical, with the company opting to operate the Bankstown store as a corporate location until things are calibrated and up and running for franchisee ownership.”
Celebrating 22 years in business in 2019, the privately-owned company is still headed by Founder and Managing Director Kenton Campbell and has not wavered in its plan to build a reputation as the premier specialty coffee QSR in Australia.
“Just like the perfect cup of coffee, the growth of a robust franchise system that is the livelihood of what is growing close to 100 small businesses, takes time and careful consideration.”
“We are not interested in growth for growth’s sake. Zarraffa’s has built its reputation on creating small business opportunities, through specialised training, operational consistency and great products and service – year on year.”
More store openings are proposed this year for the company, which started back in 1996 as a roasting house in the backstreets of Southport on the Gold Coast with a $9,000 personal loan.
Mrs Sheldon believes that factors such as the track record of re-investment by Zarraffa’s franchisees across multi-store sites, the progression of managers to owners, the reception by new markets and territories and the unwavering loyalty of existing customers affirm things are heading on the right track.
“We are consistently looking at ways to improve in all facets of the business, but 2019 is shaping up to be a year of capitalising on lessons learned, careful planning and new opportunities.”
