WHAT IS CAFÉ BIZ ROADSHOW?

Sean Edwards, Managing Director of Cafe Culture International tells us about the new direction for Café Biz.

Café Biz has been streamlined into a travelling roadshow of 50 handpicked café business solutions that will visit four cities that have missed out on many educational hospitality events.

13 years ago after I sold my regional café business, I was working in Sydney, smack in the middle of the CBD for a corporate events company. While waiting for my morning coffee I overheard the owner of the cafe asking his employees questions about the running of his business, questions as an owner he really should have known. I couldn’t help but jump in to the conversation answering his questions with ease, using my 10 years of café business knowledge. It was then that the penny dropped – how come a multi billion dollar industry has no structure in place to help café owners, not even a trade event.

Now today we are in our 12th year of Café Biz, which has taken many shapes and has been run in many capital cities. The event is built around educating café owners and their staff and we have saved many cafes from failure through the Café Biz network of loyal suppliers and industry professionals that have supported the event.

This year Café Biz has been streamlined into a travelling roadshow of 50 handpicked café business solutions that will visit four cities that have missed out on many educational hospitality events, but still have strong café businesses. Brisbane, Darwin, Adelaide and Hobart are the chosen targets for the 2016 roadshows and we have recognised these smaller cities as being high café growth areas. An example of this is Darwin. This northern city is seeing major growth cycles with a big U.S. military presence in the area, which is stimulating the hospitality area especially in the café sector.

The truth is that people are still entering the café industry and failing because the perception of the business is different to the reality. It is a lot better than ten years ago but we still need to keep educating café owners as the rules and trends change so quickly.

This year we have hand picked many of the suppliers that we know have the right solutions that will make café owners more profitable. Most of the café failures we see are through lack of cash flow coming into the business so we are targeting our loyal suppliers that can assist with smart choices for café owners.

The Café Biz Roadshows will also include Café Talks from speakers who are experts in café management. Many of the speakers are global consultants that are used to spreading the word about the successful Australian café model.

We understand that the industry is now more quality focused and the need for higher end products and services are crucial to the new style café structure. We have included a great range of the latest products that are impacting strongly around the globe and again we are handpicking these cool solutions.

If you are a café owner or are looking at starting in this business sector please make the effort and come along and be part of this exciting show that has shaped the success of the industry and where it is today.

Café Biz Roadshows:

Brisbane – 11 May – Event Complete
Hall A, Royal International Convention Centre
Brisbane Showgrounds
600 Gregory Terrace
Bowen Hills QLD 4006

Darwin – 22 June – Event Complete
The Schwepps Pavillion
Darwin Turf Club
Dick Ward Drive
Fannie Bay NT 0820

Adelaide – 6 July – Event Complete
The Ridley Centre, Adelaide
Event and Exhibition Centre
Adelaide Showgrounds
Goodwood Road
Wayville SA 5034

Hobart – 10 August
Grandstand Hall
Royal Hobart Showground
2 Howard Road
Glenorchy TAS 7010