Jake Friend

[Salvatori Grubber]

That business can’t be making money. I mean, it’s a cafe ffs.

[OMR]

That business can’t be making money. I mean, it’s a cafe ffs.

Have you seen how much they charge for a effn coffee

[Vasco]

Verrils is only 20, Friend is 29. Verrils will be Jakes back up for the next couple of seasons, slowly earning more and more game time and will take over when Jake retires or when he gets his superannuation payout via the Super league

Exactly. The club has shown how to slowly bring players through. Virells is no exception.

[Thirteen]

That business can’t be making money. I mean, it’s a cafe ffs.

A bit derogatory mate. I know very successful cafe owners.

[ism22]

That business can’t be making money. I mean, it’s a cafe ffs.

Yeah why do footy players setup cafes? SKD has one too...

Guessing some kinda tax write-off if the company's losing money while employing their wife/partner to run it full-time... and they're then writing off all the depreciation for the real commercial estate? [I joke]

A bit derogatory mate. I know very successful cafe owners.

Jake friend, SKD, Jason Nightingale, Segeyaro, [David Campese and George Gregan]?

I believe John Tobin and LOD owned small hospitality businesses too.

IMO coffee shops are a relatively fickle business. One day everybody wakes up with a lumberjack beard, tight jeans + a flanny shirt. They then instantly become hospitality buffs who demand 'fruity' coffee, milk at 60'C (no more or less), beer that's got way too much hops in it and all this stupid shyte like goji berries, quinoa and 'paleo' food. Suddenly your awesome cafe's shyte and the one downstairs with an approved hipster stamp on it's dragging in all the customers. You can either close down or spend $$$ converting yourself into a hipster joint. Alas, half of my local cafes closed because they didn't wanna go down that road.

FWIW my favourite cafes for the cities where I 'live' (I travel a lot these days) are the places that never change:
- Canberra... this joint near the casino called Bay Tree Cafe that's run by an old Korean couple. The place dead set comes outta the 1970's (due to a lack of renovation) and does a bacon and egg roll (on Turkish bread with a poached egg) + a Grinders coffee for like $10. It's hidden away on this bridge near Customs House (great 180' view!!) so you've really gotta know it's there to find it. They also do awesome bibimbap and kimchee for lunch too.
- Japan... this little joint in the basement of a random, semi-abandoned office building called COFFEE 逢園. It's pretty bloody random (empty basement floor of an office block), run by a mother & daughter team and is just so frigging nice. For like $5 I can get home made cheesecake and a Vienna coffee while listening to a bunch of hits from my parents' era. No other options really (except how your coffee is served... or a tea... but hey don't charge for tea so I feel like a wanka ordering it as they don't accept tips either). The place is an institution for any worker above the age of about 55 and does this mad ~$7 lunch special where you can only order one thing (no menu... just a 'lunch set') and they'll bring out something different every day (usually involving rice, miso soup, some pickles, some greens an meat/fish). It's an awesome no bullshyte place and like the one above... it's this random oasis in a location that has no right to be cool. While the world's moved on, it's still there and will never leave!
- Sydney... I'm gonna say Bill and Toni's. It's changed hands a bunch of times but remains pretty much the same. Coffee and some kind of edible downstairs. Massive pasta/schnitty upstairs (unlimited cordial). Still very reasonable prices and no bullshyte.

Unless you're one of the above 3... you're unlikely to survive without turning into a rubbish hipster joint. Best wishes to you though!

[Mickie Lane]

That business can’t be making money. I mean, it’s a cafe ffs.

Ryan Girdler go's pretty good.

[Salvatori Grubber]

A bit derogatory mate. I know very successful cafe owners.

lol OMR

How’s it derogatory, Thirteen? We’re all battling to do the best we can; it’s more that retail is hard to make money in these days, what with the rise of hegemonic public companies and the economics of consumerism.

Like many of us, I’ve always been a small businessman and have experienced highs and lows.

More boringly (and specifically), having 1 cafe can’t make you rich.

[Salvatori Grubber]

Yeah why do footy players setup cafes? SKD has one too...

Guessing some kinda tax write-off if the company's losing money while employing their wife/partner to run it full-time... and they're then writing off all the depreciation for the real commercial estate? [I joke]



Jake friend, SKD, Jason Nightingale, Segeyaro, [David Campese and George Gregan]?

I believe John Tobin and LOD owned small hospitality businesses too.

IMO coffee shops are a relatively fickle business. One day everybody wakes up with a lumberjack beard, tight jeans + a flanny shirt. They then instantly become hospitality buffs who demand 'fruity' coffee, milk at 60'C (no more or less), beer that's got way too much hops in it and all this stupid shyte like goji berries, quinoa and 'paleo' food. Suddenly your awesome cafe's shyte and the one downstairs with an approved hipster stamp on it's dragging in all the customers. You can either close down or spend $$$ converting yourself into a hipster joint. Alas, half of my local cafes closed because they didn't wanna go down that road.

It’s all fickle. You’re on a hiding to nothing as you’ve got nothing to leverage. So you open 2 more to try for economies of scale but it’s already the thin end of the wedge.

I reckon footy players go into ventures like this because they lack the life experience to understand that business is never a case of ‘build it and they will come’. Like many, many others they think it would be cool and should be simple to run, but in fact have had little to no exposure to any business financial statements and p/l, etc, and the truth which is that beneath the hood, owning a small business is boring and stressful.

1:5 stay solvent for more than 3-4 years (I reckon) and 1:1000 make proper, great money while allowing the owner to have a decent work/life balance.

[Bondicigar]

Yeah why do footy players setup cafes? SKD has one too...

Guessing some kinda tax write-off if the company's losing money while employing their wife/partner to run it full-time... and they're then writing off all the depreciation for the real commercial estate? [I joke]



Jake friend, SKD, Jason Nightingale, Segeyaro, [David Campese and George Gregan]?

I believe John Tobin and LOD owned small hospitality businesses too.

IMO coffee shops are a relatively fickle business. One day everybody wakes up with a lumberjack beard, tight jeans + a flanny shirt. They then instantly become hospitality buffs who demand 'fruity' coffee, milk at 60'C (no more or less), beer that's got way too much hops in it and all this stupid shyte like goji berries, quinoa and 'paleo' food. Suddenly your awesome cafe's shyte and the one downstairs with an approved hipster stamp on it's dragging in all the customers. You can either close down or spend $$$ converting yourself into a hipster joint. Alas, half of my local cafes closed because they didn't wanna go down that road.

haha these blokes with the big lumber jack beards shave there legs and arms. Wtf

[RoosterChick]

That business can’t be making money. I mean, it’s a cafe ffs.

I live nearby his cafe and believe me he is doing ok. It’s got a great location near POW Hospital and UNSW. Also it’s right at the end of the line for the light rail. Every time I have walked past it there’s a crowd in there.

[roosterproud]

just on hipsters. why do brewing companies try to mix west coast coolers with beer or even worse they add fruit. is it the australian health service trying to get us blokes to eat more fruit or are the trying to get us beer drinkers to give up drinking beer. I go out to drink beer flavoured beer, not a uni punch bowl flavoured beer. ffs. beer flavour doesnt taste like fruit nor should it ever. It doesnt need to come with a catchy lable, some surfer dudes telling blokes 'its the best' nor with a free top knot. shop fcuking with beer and get rid of the boutique beers and sell real stuff.