Cafe 63 brewing a Far North venture
A BRISBANE-BORN cafe has chosen to expand into Cairns in its first foray outside the southeast Queensland corner.
Cafe 63 has sprung up rapidly around Brisbane, Toowoomba and the Sunshine Coast over the past seven years and is easily recognised by its distinctive circular logo and black and white striped decor.
Sentinel Portfolio Management’s Anthony Newberry is in negotiations with the cafe chain to expand into Cairns, with its first business set to open at Sentinel Property Group-owned DFO Cairns in the middle of the year.
Another cafe is slated for the CBD and the northern beaches at locations yet to be determined.
“The cafes are high-turnover with a low price point,” Mr Newberry said.
“This will be their first cafe north of Noosa. Cafe 63 caters for dine-in and takeaway and they’ve really bucked the trend of other cafes by opening some stores 24 hours a day.
“They aim to capture the workers who stop by to get a coffee, then the mum or dad who meets up with a friend for morning tea and gets the kids a treat.
“Then later in the week, it might be somewhere the family goes for dinner, and on the weekend, it’ll be somewhere to stop for a treat. So by the end of the week, they’ve captured the one customer up to seven times.”
A free Cafe 63-branded water bottle is handed out to customers who can then refill them with chilled still or sparkling water for free.
Cafe 63 also works on a licensee system, rather than selling franchises, and offers training and systems to ensure all cafe owners have the best possible chance at success.
Operation manuals, pointof-sale terminals, uniforms and a full shop fit-out as well as ongoing market research and product development is provided as part of owning a cafe.
Cafe 63’s menu includes staples such as bacon and eggs, avocado on toast and waffles, as well as lamb’s fry and potato rostis with assorted accompaniments.
Pies, schnitzels, steaks and fish and chips also feature on the menus.
DFO Cairns is seeking three or four more food operators to open in the new DFOOD precinct.
Sentinel Property Group managing director Warren Ebert said more work would be done to improve parking at the Mulgrave Rd centre, especially for seniors.
He said the introduction of a skating rink at the centre over December improved foot traffic by 17 per cent, with some stores in the centre improving sales turnover in the Christmas period by 26 per cent.
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