SAY YES TO YIROS!

Authentic street-Greek franchise The Yiros Shop has carved out a reputation for fresh and flavoursome food and now the chain is gearing up for growth.

Street-Greek food chain is gearing up for growth.

Nick Mitrossilis of Hendra was just 24 when he opened his first business, The Yiros Shop, five years ago on James Street, Fortitude Valley. The little business experience he brought to the initiative was outweighed by his passion to bring authentic, fresh Greek food to Brisbane.

Today he’s proud of the chain’s growth but is the first to admit he didn’t really know what he was getting into.

“It was my first business and I was a bit naive and thought it was going to be easier. I certainly learned the hard way in the early days. There are multiple variables on a day-to-day basis, so many different components have to come together to create a successful and sustainable business,” he says.

Five years in, a far more business-savvy Mitrossilis has corrected his mistakes and implemented the systems, processes and technology that enable better operations and growth.

“As the business grew I would say that consistency across all stores was the biggest hurdle we had. Now we have extensive systems which help with future planning of our brand. Everything that our Yiros family does now is very well planned – which is much different to the ad hoc approach I had in the early days.

“We have systems in place so we can gather data on inventory levels, sales, rostering and marketing. As a result, financially The Yiros Shop has a consistent growing turnover and shows great profits.

“It’s fantastic to see how popular our fresh Greek food is among locals and visitors and with this, we have built a huge following of loyal customers who keep coming back for more.”

Mitrossilis was keen to capitalise on the chain’s sustained success, earmarking extensive development across its home state as the initial stage in The Yiros Shop franchise expansion strategy.

“The Yiros Shop is a 50/50 restaurant and takeaway and we have five existing stores located at Fortitude Valley, Cannon Hill, South Brisbane, Capalaba and Newmarket, all of which are doing really well,” Mitrossilis reveals.

“There are lots of contributing factors you have to weigh up before moving to a new location. The most important thing is the location. We like to have our stores in easily accessible places for convenience.”

Precincts already marked out for stores are Albion Central and Stafford, both north of Brisbane, and further expansion is planned along the east coast.

A franchise buyer investing in the $350,000 franchise will benefit from at least four weeks training, personal mentoring and ongoing support.

Today Mitrossilis knows there’s an appetite for his food offer.

“What I am most proud of is watching the growth of The Yiros Shop over the years. Walking into the stores and seeing all kinds of people, young and old, enjoying our food and service. Being Greek, feeding people is in our blood and we’re really excited to make it even easier for people to get their Yiros fix and enjoy fast, flavoursome and fresh Greek food.”