The Australian-owned speciality coffee franchisor is migrating south to the NSW Northern Rivers, with a brand-new location opening in Ballina today.
Catering to coffee lovers, the new Ballina store is conveniently located in the Ballina Central Shopping Centre at 44 Bangalow Road, Ballina and by long-term Zarraffa’s Coffee employee of almost 13 years, Corinne Mckenzie and her husband Jarrod.
The pair packed up their life on the Gold Coast, relocating south to open the new store and live out their dream of running their own Zarraffa’s franchise.
Zarraffa’s Coffee CEO Marnie Sheldon says Ballina marks the 74th store for the group and the reigniting of the specialty coffee company’s expansion plans into NSW.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Corinne to the Zarraffa’s franchisee family, bringing her wealth of knowledge about the brand and passion for coffee to the locals of Ballina.”
The new Ballina store exemplifies the company’s store operations, with internal and external dining options and a full-service drive thru.
“This will be our sixth store in NSW and Ballina is a natural progression of our Zarraffa’s store growth; so many locals are familiar with our Aussie-owned, specialty coffee offering it made sense to open a drive thru store in the Northern Rivers,” Ms Sheldon said.
“We’re fortunate that our drive thru model has withstood many issues that Covid has wrought on businesses, allowing so many of our stores to continue to viably trade in both a takeaway and drive thru capacity.”
Ms Sheldon said the company had concluded its strategic plans to move stores out of shopping centres, focusing on standalone sites, to build healthy, long-term locations over the next five years, and Ballina was just the start.
Ms Mckenzie’s rich history with Zarraffa’s was the driving factor to open her own store, having started as a Barista, then progressing to store manager for seven years on the Gold Coast, before working at head office as a franchise trainer for 4.5 years.
“Our plan is to be involved in the community – through local schools, businesses and sporting associations. Supporting ‘our backyard’ has always been a core part of what Zarraffa’s stores do and I am keen to start forging local relationships through coffee,” Ms Mckenzie said.
The Ballina store will also create a number of local jobs, employing approximately 25 people, opening up opportunities for prospective baristas to hone their skills, backed by Zarraffa’s quarter of a century of know-how in handcrafting specialty coffee.
The Aussie-owned franchise group is also poised to open a number of stores over the coming five years.
“Our aim is to drive steady growth across regional pockets, offering convenient speciality coffee to more people and areas,” Ms Sheldon added.
“Zarraffa’s has never been about growth for growth’s sake, rather taking our time to match franchisees with the right locations for the optimal outcome.”
Zarraffa’s Coffee Ballina is located at Ballina Central Shopping Centre, 44 Bangalow Road, Ballina NSW 2478.
Opening hours are 5am-8pm seven days a week, and 6am – 6pm public holidays.
For more information about Zarraffa’s Coffee, visit zarraffas.com.
