VILLAGE CAFE Shaun Edie Manager
Village Café is located on the south side of the Griffith University Campus and services a wide ranging cross section of customers including the following.; -------
Griffith University Village residents International students from GELI and the newly renamed Griffith College Researchers and staff from nearby research centres Students and staff from the Queensland Academy of Health Sciences High School Griffith University students and staff Neighbouring residents
We are the only shop in the immediate precinct and we supply a wide range of café lines including coffee, drinks, sandwiches, burgers and other hot foods. We also stock a range of convenience items including snack foods, groceries and stationery. Over 50% of our customers are international students from countries including USA, Canada, China, Korea, Japan, Germany, France, England and South Africa. 2016 was our biggest year yet, with increased revenue of $37,500 (6%). This was influenced by several factors, the most significant being a full year without disruption due to construction. 2015 was heavily impacted in the first quarter due to the external refurbishment and development of the collaboration space. The Coffee Kart located within the Collaboration space continued to service the growing foot traffic from the G55 multi story car park. This effectively creates an “express service” for students and staff passing through and wanting a coffee before classes. In May 2016, Village Cafe was approached by the neighbouring Queensland Academy of Health Sciences High School to provide daily lunches for the students and staff. After a lot of research into the Queensland Governments “Healthy Choices” initiative, a healthy menu was developed with the students ordering via an online portal.
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This valuable service was commenced in Term 3 and apart from being an additional revenue stream has also helped strengthen the relationship between QAHS and Village Cafe, and by extension, the Student Guild. Overall, there was an increase of 9,500 (10%) transactions and although the average spends per customer reduced slightly from $7.31 in 2015 to $7.24 in 2016, the mix of products sold and the way we produce and source them resulted in a gross profit increase from 51% in 2015 to 54% in 2016. The Village Café is continuously striving to meet our customers’ wants by introducing innovative new products, providing value for money and good customer service in a safe and friendly environment. I would like to thank all my staff, especially my Assistant Manager, Casey Haslemore, the staff of Griffith University Village, namely Ky Lower and Maree Wilson, and the Student Guild staff, particularly Dennis Bollington, Commercial Manager, and Wayne Watt, General Manager, for their ongoing support throughout 2016, and I am confident we can continue to grow in 2017.