Long-established expansion plans will culminate in the opening of Zarraffa’s northern-most store to date in Townsville this Monday.
Run by seasoned franchisees, the new drive thru store is located adjacent Fairfield Central shopping complex on Lakeside Drive, Idalia and will be the first in a number of stores planned for the regional centre.
“It is a real win to open this store in such a key part of northern Queensland,” said Zarraffa’s Coffee Executive Director, James Barritt.
“Strategically we have been building toward intra-regional and northern expansion for some time but with the acquisition of five stores in Western Australia last year we took our time to find the right site and franchisees to help build the brand up North.”
The new owners are the Blakemore family who have successfully run and operated the company’s first drive thru store located at Worongary and who originally opened the Miami store, both on the Gold Coast.
Son Corey Blakemore has relocated his young family in order to open and run operations at the new Fairfield store, with plans to open other sites in the future.
“Our experience with Worongary – the first ever Zarraffa’s drive thru – has shown that our customers appreciate the convenience and efficiency of this type of store,” said Mr Blakemore.
“We have grown our business one customer at a time by providing amazing coffee and treat every customer as the most important person in the world. This has created lifelong customers and friends.”
The new store is conveniently positioned at the southern entrance to Townsville, servicing a growing community and commuter traffic.
“We have built on the drive thru model to incorporate elements that cater specifically to the local market. Enhanced air conditioning and a larger indoor eating are just some of the features that will appeal,” said Mr Blakemore.
Initially Mr Blakemore will bring a small number of his Gold Coast team to Townsville to open the store with firm plans to recruit Townsville locals into his barista line up.
“I recently held interviews for positions locally and was blown away by the response. We had a lot of applicants which was really encouraging.”
The new store will be the first in what is set to be a north Queensland push for the Australian-owned and operated chain.
“We are looking at additional sites in Townsville and opportunities in Cairns, as well as further west in the state,” said Mr Barritt.
“There is a lot of customer interest in the brand in these areas and we are constantly on the lookout for the right locations to deliver our signature style of convenience coffee.”
“Townsville’s opening will mark our focus on populating stores outside of our south east Queensland base building on our locations in Hervey Bay and Rockhampton.”
“The combination of this activity, combined with the commencement of franchise sales and growth in Western Australia, means an exciting year ahead for the Zarraffa’s family.”
Zarraffa’s Coffee Fairfield (Townsville) is located at 2/30 Lakeside Drive Idalia, QLD, 4811
Opening hours: 5am – 10pm, seven days a week