Casual dining chain Rashays has revealed an ambitious goal to open at least 100 new stores in Australia.
The Sydney-based restaurant business has 30 outlets along Australia’s eastern seaboard, including three in the Brisbane region, three in ACT, and one in Newcastle.
This year the business expects to open three outlets in Victoria.
The business model relies on a systemised central kitchen so there is minimal cooking at store level, with portion sizes prepped and packed at the head office facilities in western Sydney to be trucked daily to franchisees.
As the brand’s footprint grows interstate it will establish mini kitchens in the Melbourne and Brisbane areas for food prep.
Rashays began as a single restaurant in 1998 in Liverpool, helmed by founder Rami Ykmour and his wife Shannon, who are still leading the growing chain from the western Sydney head office.
While the business has spread across a number of units at head office the food prep and distribution side is only operating at 20 per cent capacity, and Ykmour says the business will leverage the underused warehousing and food preparation space to grow.
Ykmour told Inside Franchise Business Executive “We’ve been building this foundation for 23 years, we could have scaled a lot faster earlier. This is about legacy.”
He revealed growth so far has been organic.
“People knocked on my door or found a site. It’s always about the foundation. It’s not about the bottom line today, it’s how do we build business long term? The complaints now are not about food and service but when are you coming here?”
New Zealand and Middle East expansion is part of the bigger plan, he says.
“People appreciate the slow growth, it’s real. We are reinvesting into a great platform. We only use 20 per cent capacity downstairs. Now we are ready, all stores are at capacity. We’ve found 100 locations that fit our profile,” he said.
“We don’t play with trends, we stay within our profile, we remain comfort food, true fresh Aussie tucker. We see brands come and go, we continue to grow.”
