One of Australia’s oldest caf chains, Shingle Inn, will fly under the banner of parent company Franchise Retail Brands (FRB) Limited.
Sean Corbin, FRB managing director, said interest in the cafe was on the radar for a while.
“We were looking for different spaces and demographics where we didn’t have a market participation,” he said.
He added that the veteran cafe business is “a brand that we still believe has expansion potential.”
FRB’s model has been designed to allow leverage of the supply-chain to provide efficiencies for franchisees within the network.
Corbin said FRB’s Brisbane-based 1200 tonne per-year coffee roasting facility could supply for “a sizeable outlet for coffee” like Shingle Inn.
Also, the purchase of Shingle Inn’s specialised bakery could supply a range of savoury baked goods and sweet treats for other brands at FRB.
The 81 year old cafe franchise will still retain its family run operations model with Brisbane brothers Peter and Andrew Bellchambers, continuing in their management roles in the business.
Since franchising in 2009, the brothers have developed the business from eight company-owned cafes to a network of 53 franchised cafes throughout Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Western Australia.
Andrew Bellchambers said the family was excited to be presented with an opportunity to secure the longevity of the company and the brand via the acquisition by FRB.
“The evolution and future of our franchise business is to be part of a bigger company,” he said.
“We are excited to join FRB and for our franchisees to be part of a company with a bigger footprint and more opportunities.”
FRB is establishing itself as the home for growing franchise brands within the Caf, Bakery/Dessert and QSR segments, and is the home of New York Slice Pizza, Hombre Mexican Cantina, 1582 Coffee, as well as new market brands of Crave Ice Creamery, The Dessert House and casual dining brand, Sabatini’s.