NPG Retail opened a new Shell Urbanista Cafe & Convenience in the western Sydney suburb of Colyton as the city went into lockdown earlier this year.
Discussing its conception, Managing Director Eddy Nader says Viva Energy came to him with the opportunity after Coles Express decided to exit the location at 88 Great Western Highway.
“They asked my opinion on it. [Retail Manager] Teddy [Nader, his son] and I came up and had a look around, and said ‘Yeah, we can make this work’,” he says, adding that there’s no offer like Urbanista’s in the surrounding area.
This offering entails fast food, a first for an Urbanista store. The menu reflects a focus on burgers but also includes hot snacks, hot chips and dim sims.
“We’re bringing fresh burgers into a petrol station, something you don’t usually see behind the counter,” says Teddy.
Eddy adds: “It’s done in the country, like in regional areas, but no one’s really done it in metro Sydney.”
Commenting on the reception of the fast food, Teddy says: “It’s going well, but I guess it’s about testing the customer base and seeing what they really think about buying a burger from a service station.”
Platforms such as DoorDash, Menulog and Uber Eats are also said to be “really pushing” the new offering as well.
“[That’s] reaching new customers that may not have ever even walked into the store,” says Teddy.
During the peak of the recent lockdown, however, a problem was the lack of platform drivers in the area.
“That was the hardest [thing during lockdown],” says Eddy. “We had that in all our stores.”
Read the store profile in full in the latest issue of Convenience World.
