SPICING UP OUR PALETTE

Australia’s first Mexican chain is still going strong and

cooking up more expansion plans.

Fifty-one years ago a tortilla machine introduced to the Australian market a whole new food concept. At that time, a 2lb (0.9kg) loaf of bread cost Sydneysiders about 18 cents. Sydney also got its first Lebanese restaurant. When Margaret Fulton was a year away from publishing her first cookbook and KFC had not yet launched here, the man who became “Taco Bill” brought exotic dishes from central America – enchiladas, nachos and the margarita – to spice up our palates.

Bill Chilcote arrived from the Californian/Mexican border and set up his first restaurant on the Gold Coast, serving a takeaway menu. Today, Mexican cuisine is one of the fastest-growing quick-service restaurant categories and is a familiar segment in supermarket aisles.

But it was not an overnight sensation, and the market has really only become as competitive as it is now in the past 10 years. Years and years were spent educating the public about the food, says Taco Bill CEO Tom Kartell.

“We were the first to incorporate Mexican food into the Australian way of life, with our fresh produce and authentic Mexican recipes,” he says. “When we started there were so many challenges. The only people who had really experienced Mexican food were those who had travelled. Nobody had been exposed to this type of cuisine in Australia before.”

Taco Bill has provided Kartell with an extraordinary career path. An immigrant from Iran who could not speak English when he arrived in the 1980s, he took a job as a temporary kitchen hand at the South Melbourne Taco Bill outlet, then kept being promoted until one day he was running the kitchen. He worked hard for six years, borrowed the finance for his first restaurant, then bought a second and a third before moving to head office.

“I did an MBA, got myself educated, so I could understand the business part,” says Kartell, who has been instrumental in expanding the business and is proud to have celebrated last year’s milestone of 50 years with this year’s goal to reach the sale of the 50th million taco.

EXPERIENCE AND AMBIENCE

Takeaway has been at the heart of the battle for the fast-food dollar, and although that was the brand’s home base, and is still a customer service option along with delivery, Taco Bill is more about experience and ambience, he says.

“We’re still about food service. We are producing fresh food, we cook everything at the restaurant.”

Costs in quick-service restaurants can mount up – rent, labour, cost of goods. In major shopping centres, long opening hours and the battle for customers make the experience and economics a challenge for franchisees, he suggests, and that is when a franchisee might have to open and close the restaurant on a daily basis to keep costs down.

It is a different story for Taco Bill. Kartell says that for the chain, which is not trading in top-tier shopping centres apart from Chadstone, rent is a small component of the franchisee’s outgoings. Taco Bill restaurants are destination outlets, he says, and for franchisees the good news is the opening hours are “reasonably short” for a hospitality business. Typical locations are in suburban and boutique CBD areas.

“The numbers have to stack up,” he says.

EXTENDING FOOTPRINT

This is a brand that has been flying under the radar for a while, but now the team is ramping up expansion with plans to double the number of outlets over the next five years. Three to four outlets were opened annually from 2008 to 2010, but the focus

Keep the staff happy, and they will increase sales. Provide a happy environment for them to work.

Reward them.

is now on extending the Taco Bill footprint beyond its stronghold in Victoria.

Regional areas are the new targets, and careful site selection is designed to keep the brand growing, but not at the cost of existing franchisees. “We want to give franchisees enough room to do good business. We don’t want to create competition within the group.”

Some of the stores will stay as corporate outlets, allowing the franchisor to use these sites for research and development. “We have some franchisees who have been with the brand 30-plus years. Once in there, they last,” says Kartell. It is about flexibility and lifestyle, he says.

The business suits a franchisee who is willing to form a close bond with the franchisor. More than one franchisee have multi-units, and more Taco Bill staff members are buying franchises.

“Their success is our success,” says Kartell. “We work together with mutual respect. We want franchisees to be hands-on and control costs. Hospitality is a difficult business. You need to get the lifestyle right and balance family time.”

ATTITUDE PARAMOUNT

An ideal franchisee wants to have fun, and is happy to engage with people, someone who enjoys rapid change. The right attitude is paramount, he says.

With workplace laws in the spotlight, Taco Bill supports franchisees with updated information, alerting them to award rates and staffing levels.

His tips for running a good franchise? “Keep the staff happy, and they will increase sales. Provide a happy environment for them to work. Reward them.

“If they move on, you want them to take something somewhere else, for Taco Bill to have been a positive experience.”

Kartell is still a part-owner of several stores, and is the major shareholder in the

business. In his spare time he can be found out and about at franchised outlets.

“I visit as many as I can. At night I’m out with the franchisees.

“I work because I enjoy what I do. I’m not just a franchisor, my intention is to make sure everything is done right.”