Here’s why Hogs Breath Cafe is shrinking its restaurant sizes

The switch to a newer, smaller model was announced amidst the closure of several sites.

A massive reduction in restaurant sizes, an updated logo, focusing more on turning tables, and removing third-party aggregators take away business from the front door are just some of the few key differences of Hog’s Breath Cafe’s new business model.

Talking with QSR Media, Steven Spurgin, CEO of Hog’s Breath Cafe said the biggest reason they are doing this is to make the business more sustainable. This was after the owners Don Algie and Ginger White reviewed the business model for two years.

“We feel that the old business model of the big restaurants is not viable with the size of the competition in the market, or the numbers of competitors in the market. What we are seeing is that there’s a decline in market spending in restaurants. With a big restaurant, you have massive overhead and that could create a big problem for its sustainability,” Steven said.

The logo was changed from its original old pink and blue logo. The brand is also dropping the logo from its Hog’s Australia Steakhouse days.

In June, Hog’s Breath Cafe announced the closure of its Dandenong and Karingal restaurants in Victoria. Before that were sites in Gladstone, Coffs Harbour, and Tuggerah.

Another reason is to consolidate the brand. Due to it being a franchise system, its Australian operations were originally owned by an Australian company called HBCA. The company ran the franchise as Hog's Australia's Steakhouse. In October 2020, the original owners bought back the franchise and started to operate it as Hog’s Breath Cafe.

“We have some stores that are Hog’s Australia Steakhouse and some stores that are Hog’s Breath Cafe. We are now putting it up as only Hog’s Breath Cafe,” Steven said. He also added that the stores themselves have undergone a new look, with nine stores already refurbished which according to the feedback from their customers have a more modern and smarter feel. Steven said the target of the newer model will be customers looking for in dining at table service experience.“

"We're just looking for people who want to go out for a meal with their friends or their family and spend the evening with them and then don't have problems with restrictions or menu choice and payment,” Steven said.

In June, Hog's Breath previously announced the closures of some of their restaurants.