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FOOD, COFFEE AND MOTORBIKE LOVE After a corporate life spanning 30 years, it was time to start a family business, says the owner of this cafe/ restaurant/roaster/motorbike workshop in Melbourne’s east. By Lorna Gloria. In the middle of Covid-19, on 1 June 2020, Bodgo’s opened its doors at 74 Railway Road, Blackburn. “After a lot of work by many people to get the space ready, we needed to stick to the plan and get the doors open,” owner Greg Hodges said. Bodgo’s is surrounded by offices, auto mechanics and residential accommodation. Combining an in- house coffee roaster, full bakery and motorcycle workshop has attracted a cross-section of customers and patrons. “Blackburn’s a great suburb, and support from the locals has been fantastic,” Mr Hodges told Convenience World. “We wanted to establish an open, friendly environment where we roast our own beans, serve great coffee and offer quality, fresh, simple food, all in front of our in-house motorcycle workshop.” Mr Hodges had previously worked at tobacco company WD & HO Wills for 10 years, Pauls (Parmalat) for 10 years, and Almarai (a dairy company in the Middle East) for 11 years. “Working in both the petrol and convenience and foodservice channels with Parmalat, and with Almarai Dairy in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, provided great insights into the planning and execution of consumer wants and needs,” he said. “The learnings and experience gained from past roles has enabled us to transfer these to planning and opening our own business, culminating three passions: coffee, food and motorbikes.” For Mr Hodges, it’s been a long-time dream to own and operate a business combining these passions. “I get a real kick out of talking to and getting to know our customers,” he said. “Most enjoyable is receiving compliments on our coffee, food, and the ambiance. “As we all know, Melbourne has great coffee and great cafes. The Blackburn area has many cafes, and we knew we had to brew and serve great, consistent coffee. This was the driving reason to install and roast our own coffee beans.” Bodgo’s roasted coffee blend is the result of “the endless pursuit of excellence”, Mr Hodges says. Roasted to a medium profile, with developed flavours of hazelnut, chocolate and caramel, the blend uses “only the finest” green (raw) Arabica beans imported from Brazil, Ethiopia, Indonesia, India and Papua New Guinea. He says employing trained and knowledgeable baristas is becoming more and more important to ensure consumer expectations are met and exceeded. “Coffee’s a feel-good product to many people, and with an ever- changing requirement to suit taste and dietary needs, the barista must be in tune with the many current and new trends,” Mr Hodges said. “However, just as important is the ability to connect with customers through great customer service.” The range of coffee styles at Bodgo’s is large and expanding, in line with consumer demand and trends. “There are many milk alternatives, and these are on the increase,” he said. “There are also some great ice- coffee options proving popular in the warmer weather.” Also on the menu is a range of savoury and sweet pastries baked daily at Bodgo’s, while a retail section offers coffee beans, apparel and motorcycle accessories. “We’ve just obtained our liquor licence and we’re planning to launch ‘casual’ Friday and Saturday afternoon/ evenings with a range of wines and beers complemented with simple, casual food,” Mr Hodges said. Although these are early days and he’s new to the business, he shows assuredness when it comes to identifying the ingredients for success in such a venture. “We’ve just got ourselves through Covid lockdowns, etc,” he said. “I feel that, to be successful, there must be an inner desire to do what you want to do and do it well. “Bringing our business to fruition has been a sharp learning curve. We firmly believe our research, planning and execution has enabled the results we desired. The success will centre on our offer and the ability to adopt and adapt to consumer choice and demand. After all, we’re here to serve our customers, and we’re extremely grateful for their patronage throughout the first 12 months at Bodgo’s.” CAFE CONVENIENCE MAY/JUN, 2021 CONVENIENCE WORLD 19