Charcoal Lane head chef Greg Hampton with students
FEATURE // Social enterprise
Social surplus Despite operating in an industry with notoriously tight margins, some hospitality businesses have decided to give back to communities by building purpose into their objective. WORDS Madeline Woolway HOSPITALITY AND SOCIAL enterprise
the business simultaneously empowers
enterprise],” he says. “It entitles you to
cliché as it might be, food has a habit of
tackling an industry-wide skills shortage.
government and other industries as well.”
could be a match made in heaven. As
bringing people together. Melbourne’s
refugees with employment pathways while
a range of subsidies and grants from the
Charcoal Lane and Sydney’s The Bread
Commercial strategies are implemented
While The Bread & Butter Project officially
of successful social enterprise models
and social impact. Unlike a charity, a
took two years to develop. Allam, his wife
& Butter Project are just two examples in action.
Founded in 2009, Charcoal Lane
operates under the umbrella of Mission Australia, a Christian charity. The onehatted restaurant’s raison d’etre is to
reduce labour force exclusion among
young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people while providing a platform to share their culture through food.
The Bread & Butter Project was set up
by Bourke Street Bakery co-founders Paul
Allam and David McGuinness in 2013, and 18 | Hospitality
with a dual goal: maximising surplus social enterprise aims to cover most of its costs by generating a surplus
through commerce. And unlike a typical
corporation, 100 per cent of the surplus is reinvested into the business’ pursuit of its social goals.
According to The Bread & Butter Project
general manager Philip Hoban, launching a social enterprise is similar to opening a normal business. “The only difference is
you need to go through an approval process with the government [to register as a social
launched in 2013, the business model
Jessica Grynberg and McGuinness drew on their network of contacts to form a board, which provides direction and advice.
Hiring the right mix of commercially and socially oriented people is crucial, says Hoban. “You really need to be set up
properly. The biggest risk the business has taken is bringing me in because I
have no social background. But I’m here
to manage costs.” In his first five months as GM, Hoban has attended conferences
for ‘changemakers’ and has recognised an
