Bean to the shops ... now we are through
founder of Zarraffa’s Coffee says he will “never again” build another shopping centre cafe amid an unstoppable customer shift to drive-through service.
Kenton Campbell, founder of the Gold Coast-born brand, is this week set to open his 76th franchise – a drivethrough at Molendinar – with more expansion plans on the menu.
The brand’s first drivethrough store was launched at Worongary, pre-Covid, “to see how it would go”, Mr Campbell said.
He couldn’t have known he was unwittingly preparing for a “pandemic-proof” business model that would eventually bring in twice the number of customers as walk-in stores.
“It gave people what they wanted, at arm’s length,” he said.
“I’m a guy that goes in, I don’t go through the drivethrough, I just don’t, but having both gives us twice the number of customers.”
Despite set up costs being double or even triple that of a shopping centre store, Mr Campbell said longer leases and certainty over tenure gave franchisees more security and confidence to invest more in the business.
“We’ll never do another store (without a drivethrough) because of that – the writing was on the wall,” Mr
Zarraffa’s Coffee founder
Campbell said. “Never again inside a shopping centre – for so many reasons.
“They don’t open until long after we’re ready to go, you have a massive amount of competition, there’s no tenure for the franchisees.
“At the drive-throughs you have got 20 to 30-year leases, they can refit, refinish, refresh and improve knowing they’re going to be able to stay there.”
Mr Campbell said the brand’s footprint had shrunk from 93 stores to 70 during its main transition to drivethrough, and that existing incentre franchises would be relocated as their leases expired.
“In three to five years, we’ll be drive-through only,” Mr Campbell said.
The brand is looking to push further into Queensland and New South Wales and to exThe pand its footprint in Western Australia and other states.
The newest drive-through is set to employ 30 people on busy Southport-Nerang Rd and will be operated by local family Mayur, Rupa, and Nikhil Patel.
Franchisees for more than 18 years, the Patels also own Zarraffa’s Coffee stores in Browns Plains, Chatswood Road, Slacks Creek, Ormeau, and Coffs Harbour.
“We are looking forward to serving the Molendinar community here on the Gold Coast, as we too have lived in this area for more than 17 years now,” Mayur Patel said.
The new store is set to open from 4.30am to 8pm seven days a week from Friday.
Kenton Campbell