What’s New

Kowloon Cafe is the hot destination for authentic Hong Kong cuisine.

KFC’s Queen Street Mall Restaurant goes eco-friendly with new design

After tremendous success in the Sydney CBD and Burwood, popular eatery Kowloon Cafe now has franchising opportunities available across Australia. Kowloon Cafe brings authentic Hong Kong cuisine inside an aesthetic cafe to bring the most authentic experience to you. The idea behind Kowloon cafe began when howin chui returned to australia from hong Kong and longed for an authentic hong Kong experience in sydney. he noticed that in australia the food culture surrounding casual cantonese food was being associated with Bubble Tea and fried chicken. so, chui began his mission to redefine the hK culinary experience in sydney by introducing authentic food, music and beverage experiences. everything from the menu to the service creates a unique sensory experience for all the guests that dine in the cafe. Kowloon features authentic hong Kong cuisine that howin had not yet seen in sydney and innovative dishes. highlights on the casual menu include the must-try crispy, buttery pineapple bread and the hong Kong-style french toast served with a selection of condensed milk, honey and maple syrup. since opening its doors in 2019, Kowloon cafe has gained high-profile media recognition, which has cemented the brand as a hot destination for those longing for hong Kong food. Kowloon cafe has opportunities for franchising across australia, including Brisbane, adelaide, Queensland and Melbourne. for more information, please reach out to howin@kowlooncafe.com.au

even get a snap with our colonel Mascot at our in-restaurant photo booth!”

“for those locals who want to get their hands on the colonel’s delicious Kentucky fried chicken from the comfort of their home, we will also be offering delivery on Uber eats, Menulog, doordash and deliveroo. additionally, for those that may be in a hurry, we have self-service Kiosks available in the restaurant too,” added shields.

KFC has opened its new restaurant with sustainable features in Queen Street Mall at Brisbane.

The restaurant incorporates sustainable and locally-sourced materials into the design. it features recycled glass benchtops and brick slips, as well as a metal laminate made from 80% recycled content.

The restaurant will also offer 78 new job opportunities in the local area. The new restaurant will also provide opportunities for the new team members to develop customer service and teamwork skills. in partnership with Wesley Mission Queensland, Kfc Queen street Mall will also start a food recovery program which will deliver excess food to residents in the local community, feeding those in need. flynn Bunkum-shields, restaurant General Manager, said, “The arrival of this unique Kfc restaurant to Queen st Mall is really exciting for us and local Kfc fans. as our doors open to customers, we’re looking forward to both locals and tourists visiting Kfc Queen st Mall and popping in to meet the team. Locals should be sure to join in the fun and visit the new Kfc restaurant today to make the most of the opening day vouchers and Kfc merchandise and

South Australian brand, Soonta, expands to Queensland

Vietnamese-inspired restaurant Soonta, are excited to announce that they have recently secured a highly qualified master franchise partner for the Queensland market. Soonta will be launching its first Queensland location with its partner in the near future and is looking forward to adding more fantastic franchises to its network from the start of Q1, 2023.

Queensland is forecasted to continue to experience the largest increase in interstate migration due to it being a state that has avoided extended lockdowns. sydney and Melbourne are forecasted to record a net outflow of over 30,000 people each for 2021-2022, and some of these individuals will be moving to Queensland. More of the younger population are leaving their home states and moving to Queensland as the “Millennial Migration” is thought to rise. Brisbane, in particular, is expected to grow as an ever-evolving global-city position that remains to attract interstate interest, and will soon attract international investment. soonta will benefit from the Millennial Migration as this group further embraces cuisines that are filled with nutrients, vegetarian options, and raw and fresh ingredients for their diets. its mission as a brand is to serve food that cultivates happiness that is nourishing yet delicious, and that is made fresh daily with locally sourced ingredients. soonta is a proudly australian-founded and owned business, with its story beginning in 2008. They have 17 franchise stores around south australia and have just launched their franchise model with dc strategy to expand nationwide, with a focus on searching for the perfect master franchisees to join in on their success.

TGI Friday’s operator acquires burger bar brand, Varsity Group

Signature Hospitality Group, which owns TGI Friday’s, has inked a deal to acquire Varsity Group, a college-themed sports and burger bar brand. in a joint statement, signature said it signed a strategic and collaborative acquisition agreement which comprises eight Varsity locations across Western australia and increases signature’s portfolio in Wa to 14 venues, including sporting Globe Bar & Grill and TGi friday’s australia. “This acquisition will take signature to almost 50 locations and in excess of $200m revenue,” read the statement. Varsity went from its first american college themed “frat-style” bar that opened in nedlands in february 2013 to be Perth’s #1 sports and burger joint. now, the business has seven large format venues, with its eighth location under construction, and employs over 300 people.

“This partnership is a win for all parties, and we are excited and confident that under signature’s ownership, Varsity will experience significant growth and be in a strong position to capitalise on new opportunities. My fellow founders and i will continue in management roles for at least the next three years here in Wa, and we are so excited to be working with signature to achieve our shared goals in years to come,” added Maher.

also, the Varsity brand identified five new large format locations in Western australia with the next opening being Varsity innaloo in december 2022.

“Varsity is an iconic brand with strong roots in Wa where it will remain headquartered. it has significant opportunity for future growth in Wa where signature will commit $20M of investment over the next three years, as well as further opportunities nationally,” he added.

Lord of the fries launches limited-edition Plant-Based Schnitzel menu with Harvest Gourmet®

Leading plant-based fast-food restaurant, Lord of The Fries, has introduced schnitzel to its menu – with a limitededition collaboration with the new Harvest Gourmet® Plant-Based Schnitzel by Nestlé Professional. designed for aussie tastebuds, the new harvest Gourmet® PlantBased schnitzel has a crunchy, golden crumb seasoned with turmeric and paprika, and was chosen as the first plant-based schnitzel to grace the Lord of The fries menu.

The collaboration between Lord of The fries and harvest Gourmet® celebrates the versatility of the humble ‘chicken’ schnitty, and provides vegans, flexitarians, and everyone in between, the experience of enjoying a classic chicken schnitzel.

nestlé Professional Oceania General Manager scott stuckmann said, “We are excited to bring a classic aussie menu item, the schnitzel, to plant-based menus with the creative team behind Lord of the fries. The partnership is a wonderful fit as we are both passionate about providing australians with tasty plant based food alternatives.”

according to elke Travers, nestlé Professional’s corporate development chef, the flavour, texture and similarity to traditional chicken schnitzel, was what drew Lord of The fries to introduce harvest Gourmet® Plant-Based schnitzel to its menu.

“Our harvest Gourmet® range delivers nutritious and delicious plantbased food alternatives – leveraging more than 30 years of global nestlé research and development. The Plant-Based schnitzel has been created by chefs, for chefs, so out-of-home operators can offer diners delicious plant-based dishes worth talking about.”

executive director at Lord of the fries arie nudel adds, “Our new menu items were created to hero the delicious Plant-Based schnitzel while boasting the Lord of the fries flair for innovative, on-trend creations. We are thrilled to collaborate with harvest Gourmet®, known for its high quality, tasty plant based alternatives.”

GuzMan y GoMez ‘It’s all about seasoning’

Australia’s fastest growing fast-food business, Guzman y Gomez (GYG) has launched a new ‘Fries’ campaign “It’s all about the seasoning!”.

When it comes to fast food, there’s nothing more iconic than fries! That’s why GyG’s skin-on fries are made with real potatoes and no preservatives or unnecessary additives.

created and produced by Guzman y Gomez’s in-house agency, the new campaign celebrates the unique housemade chipotle-seasoning that makes GyG fries a fan favourite. The uniquely addictive chipotle-seasoning is the special ingredient that really sets GyG’s fries apart. our fries have become one of the most popular items on our menu. There are so many reasons why people love our clean, skin-on fries, but for me it always comes back to one - it’s all about the seasoning!”

The campaign heroes fries and features the fries range; nacho fries, Queso fries and the cali Burrito - that’s fries in a burrito.

Guzman y Gomez head of creative & strategy, yash Murthy believes the strength of the creative direction came from sticking to two of the brand’s core values, namely ‘Be real’ and ‘it’s all about the food’.

“at GyG we pride ourselves on being real and letting our food do the talking. The ‘fries’ campaign is no different, celebrating our amazing chipotle-seasoned fries by literally bringing our guests closer to them than ever before. Just like our fries, a little sprinkle of magic helped bring the whole campaign to life.”