IDENTIFYING a niche in the market and going for it has led to the opening of the first WA outlet of gourmet burger outlet Grill’d on the Beaufort Street strip in Mt Lawley.
Owner Evan Hewitt opened his new eatery last week, quickly finding himself swamped with customers keen to sample the fare at the most recent addition to Perth’s seemingly fast-growing gourmet burger scene.
The menu offers 18 meal-sized burgers of 100 per cent beef, chicken breast, lamb or vegan-suitable veggie burgers, as well as salads and chips with a range of dipping sauces.
There are also gluten-free bun options.
Evan, whose franchising experience includes running three Boost Juice outlets around town, said he had noticed that Perth offered plenty of fast-food or upmarket dining options, but little in the middle ground of good quality, convenient food at affordable prices.
“I thought the $10 to $15 main was slowly evaporating in Perth,” he said.
“You go to restaurants now and its $20 to $30 mains.”
Hewitt said he became interested in opening Perth’s first Grill’d franchise a couple years back when over east.
“I liked the concept and I liked the product. I trialled the chips and burgers, and I thought it would work very well in Perth,” he said.
“It was a matter of getting the right site in the right spot.
“There are some competitors in Perth but the market is there, and if you do quality food with quality produce at the right place, it should do very well.”
Established in 2004, the Grill’d franchise has quickly grown from one store in Hawthorn, Victoria, to 30 stores in Victoria, NSW and Queensland.
The store – which occupies the space vacated recently by espresso bar Cino to Go – has already hired 25 staff but Evan said he would probably have to bump that up to 30 as he fine-tuned operations.