Bavaria-style dining brand to enter NZ
Private equity-owned Rockpool Dining Group is expanding into New Zealand with multimillion-dollar plans to bring its network of restaurants to this country.
Rockpool Dining Group, owned by Australian private equity firm Quadrant, owns and operates 74 restaurants throughout Australia under 15 restaurants brands, including The Bavarian, Beerhaus, Rockpool Bar & Grill and Spice Temple.
The group will open its first New Zealand restaurant, The Bavarian, in Westfield Newmarket in Auckland in October in time for the shopping centre’s opening. The 400-seat restaurant will be on the top floor of the centre’s luxury dining and entertainment precinct Rooftop on Broadway.
The Bavarian restaurant chain specialises in German and Bavarian meats and is in 27 shopping centres in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.
Rockpool Dining is in the process of opening 10 new restaurants in Australia, including four The Bavarians, and plans to open up to seven restaurants in New Zealand in the next two years, spending about $30 million in the expansion programme.
Rockpool Dining chief executive Thomas Pash said the group planned to bring its El Camino Cantina and Fratelli Fresh restaurants to New Zealand.
“We’ve got a two- to three-year plan that we will hopefully open between five and seven restaurants across New Zealand,” Pash said. “We’ve got several locations that we’re looking at top to bottom, all the way down to Queenstown.
“Ultimately, we believe that we can have 20 or potentially more restaurants across our key growth brands in New Zealand.”
Pash said Rockpool Dining looked for new shopping centres in areas in growing markets to open its venues. It typically costs about $2-$3m to open a venue and each hires 40-60 staff.
New Zealand’s growing and “emerging” hospitality scene and similarities to the Australian market made it a logical place to expand into, Pash said.
“We really think consumers are ready for Rockpool brands.”
Rockpool Dining Group posted revenue of $450m in the past financial year, making it one of the Asia Pacific region’s largest hospitality groups.