GG Espresso - Bringing a touch of Europe to the Australian cafe landscape
George Greegan (ex Wallaby captain) player and his wife, Erica have established a chain of successful espresso bars. In this interview Erica Greegan the MD tells QSR Media how they differentiate themselves.
QSR Media: Tell us about GG Espresso?
Erica: George (ex Wallaby captain George Gregan) and I established GG espresso over 14 years ago. Today the business is a collection of 16 espresso bars and a catering business. Recently we established and opened a small bar, The Local Bar at Neutral Bay. GG espresso cafes have become part of the CBD landscape and combined serve over 8,800 coffees each day.
My senior team has been together for five years and has significant experience in operations, food, marketing and hospitality. All GG espresso cafes follow a business model that ensures that the quality of the product and services levels are high.
The business has developed long term relationships with suppliers including coffee supplier, Allpress. This contributes to the quality of the GG espresso products and ensures that the business deals with suppliers who share the same ethical and quality concerns.
QSR Media: You have a "staff only" element to your business, how did this come about, what results are you getting?
Erica: The staff only cafes are those that are located within business with no public access. We opened our first GG espresso internal cafe eight years at Macquarie Group, 1 Martin Place. We had a GG espresso cafe located next door to Macquarie and attracted many of their customers. They invited us in. We now have internal cafes at Mirvac, Perpetual and Fairfax Media.
The key to operating these type of cafes is to become part of the businesses culture. We really need to understand how the business operates as this determines not only practical issues such as operating hours and menu items, but also the type of people we have running that particular cafe.
Becoming part of the 'furniture' is a skill our business has developed and we understand the importance of customers wanting a say in what the cafe offers. We know how listen to these customers, how to work with internal systems and make adjustments to our business as those of our clients shift.
The downside to these operations can be seen during the recent GFC. When companies downsize significantly, the cafes lose customers. There is not the option to attract business from the street and then there is pressure on the cafe to maintain its broad offer and level of service.
QSR Media: Growth markets, where do are you seeing growth (both in new store openings, new menu items, new markets etc).
Erica: For GG espresso, we are focusing on opening cafes that go beyond just delivering a coffee service. We see a future in establishments that offer the opportunity to have an espresso in the morning, a healthy lunch and a glass of wine after work. Our shift is towards a more European style espresso bar.
We have recently attached liquor licenses to several of our existing business. This allows us to extend our offering in cafes where there is high pedestrian traffic or a very loyal customer base. In terms of business growth however, our core focus will always be on coffee.
In terms of new stores, we will open another Local Bar at 161 Castlereagh Street, Sydney in 2013 and have three more GG espresso cafes in Sydney coming next year.
QSR Media: Are you franchised?
Erica: No - the company is privately owned.
QSR Media: What are you 3 top concerns as MD?
Erica: 1.Spiralling running cost are a major concern - this includes cost of goods, wages, utilities, rent and services.
2. The fact that hospitality is not considered a long term career in Australia which makes it difficult to attract young people to the business. I trained in Europe where a career in hospitality is considered a long term option and value is placed on these skills. I don't believe Australia has reached that point. We have recently set up an internal training academy to engage and train our staff and encourage a longer term of employment.
3. The state of the economy and the effect on small business is a major concern. The cost of opening a new business has risen dramatically and this includes fit out costs, bank related costs, rent and fees. What hasn't increased is the price of a cup of coffee.
