Sandwiches don’t get much better than the ones at Kosta’s Takeaway. Mix together Greek hospitality with a restaurant approach to food and a sprinkling of nostalgia, and you get one of Sydney’s most loved lunch fix, and there’s more still to come.
Keeping It Classic, Not Basic
Creating a concept with a purpose
Owner Benjamin Terkalas is no stranger to hospitality. Having owned bars and cafes in the past, Benji was on a break from the industry when the idea for Kosta’s Takeaway began brewing more and more.
“I just found selling $12 eggs and offering table service and cutlery and hiring waitstaff, it’s such a big engine for such little return,” says Benji. “I stopped enjoying it.”
Benji hit up two of his previous trusted workmates and began developing the concept – one that lets them focus on the things they enjoy like the food and the staff, but removing the parts they didn’t, like table service.
“I think a lot of it was Benji was rattling off ideas, which he is really good at doing, and we were taking it all in,” says Brand Manager Meri Biscotto. “Krisinda was doing all the copy, picking up on a lot of what he said, a lot of his personality, and then we sort of started to build it from there.”
Learn more about Kosta’s Takeaway’s branding here.
Restaurant quality food
The way Benji and the team approached their food is very different to what you would expect from a takeaway sandwich shop. With the venue born during COVID, Benji was lucky to find some good chefs in the market for work, and with them, they approached their sandwiches like a restaurant. The Schnitty sandwich has remained a fan favourite, with chicken that’s brined for 24 hours and then panko crumbed. All their sauces are made in-house, with their fermented chilli sauce a must-have add-on for those who love a bit of a kick.
“We shred all our lettuce in-house. It’s fresh every day,” says group chef Lachlan Copeland. “And if you’re toasting the bread, we make sure it’s toasted correctly. We don’t want any soggy sandwiches. If you are making a sandwich and you are cutting the tomato on the board, wipe the board so it’s not wet before you put your bread on it. Water is the sandwich’s worst enemy.”
With recipes by restaurant chefs, Kosta’s kitchen also runs more like a restaurant, with people assigned to their stations (toaster, larder, grill), and one person calling the pass.
“The worst thing you can have in a kitchen is crossing over because then people are bumping into each other,” says Copeland. “And making sure that the condiments and the garnishes are in front of where they’re cooked. Like the sauce for the fish. The fish is cooked here, the sauce is here, and not over there.”
“For us, that’s just natural, and it keeps the enthusiasm, it keeps the camaraderie,” says Benji. “Hearing the, ‘New order’, ‘check on’, you feel like you’re not just at a sandwich shop. That’s important to us.”
I love going into venues and there’s hustle and bustle, there’s people, ‘Yes, chef, no chef.’ It’s theatre.”
Benji Terkalas → Owner
To add a bit of personability, their front of house staff type in the customer’s name for food orders in Square Point of Sale, which is printed onto a docket for the person at the pass, allowing them to call out people’s names when their order is ready.
Off the beaten path
Kosta’s was originally meant to launch in a Sydney CBD spot. But Benji’s dad challenged him (‘why the CBD when most office workers are working from home?’), and offered for him to open in the office of his smash repairs shop. It’s not your typical takeaway venue – it’s in an industrial area on a main road, but Benji relented, and soon got to work building the venue. Without a whole lot of capital, Benji needed an easy, accessible point of sale for their launch.
“I’ve had $25,000 POS’s, $10,000 POS’s. Square was a very easy option for us,” says Benji. “I’ve used it in the past, it’s budget accessible. It’s the Apple of the POS. And for me, it’s also been a part of our journey to open other venues.”
The first location in Rockdale opened in April 2021, named after his dad Con Kostantinos “Kosta”. The branding takes inspiration from their Greek heritage, as well as the takeaway shops that Greek immigrants established and ran a few decades ago.
We’re really leaning into a sense of nostalgia from a cultural perspective in terms of Benji’s background and the Greek heritage of it all, but then also nostalgia just from 20 years ago, you could see all of those types of convenience stores.”
Krisinda Merhi → Copywriter
Old school hospitality
Benji grew up with his grandma (yia yia) where he learnt a lot of the hospitality he’s passing on through Kosta’s Takeaway today. The table was never empty at yia yia’s; making sure people was fed is the way she shows love and what makes her happy.
“It’s always a five course meal and lots of sharing,” says Benji. “Lots of plates of food to share, which for me is beautiful to come home to.”
So that, for me, is where hospitality started. Just seeing how happy it makes people. That’s what’s important to me.”
Benji Terkalas → Owner
Yia yia took Benji to his first hospitality job when he was 14 where she had been working for a long time, and eventually Benji worked for Filippo Navarra of Navarra Venues, who further shaped his approach to hospitality.
“At 11 o’clock at night, he’d come in, the wedding’s finished, the guests are leaving,” recalls Benji. “And he’s like, ‘The jugs aren’t full.’ I’m like, ‘Fil, they’re leaving.’ He goes, ‘They paid till 12, alright? Fill it up.’ But little things like that taught me a lot. Just give, share, and little things like making sure your top button’s done up.”
They may not be in button ups at Kosta’s Takeaway, but this approach is what Benji is bringing to the business, from the service to the packed sandwiches. “People eat with their eyes, and you want them to be full. I know some people say it’s overkill, but for us, you want something you can get two hands around and enjoy it. And you don’t want them to be hungry. No one wants to leave hungry.”
Expanding to more locations
Whilst Rockdale was very much a local community vibe, expanding into the CBD’s busy Circular Quay is a whole other ballgame.
“From a semi non-commercial kitchen, to just banging out sambos with your mates, to then turning into from eight staff to 20 staff. And then you’re worrying about wholesaling to your own stores, you’re looking at two POS’s, you’re rostering for two stores.”
Thankfully their rostering connected in with Square, and their point of sale could easily be replicated so that all their staff can easily work across their stores. Square Stand connected to Square Reader allowed them to take transactions quickly, which they needed for the lunch rush each day.
“The response was just massive. It was huge. There were people lining up,” says Benji.
With such a tight space, at their Circular Quay store, Benji knew they needed a prep kitchen and an office space, which is how their Rosebery store came about. And with this HQ, Kosta’s is prepared to open a few more stores in time. Whilst Rockdale is still home (everyone’s first shift is at Rockdale), having a point of sale that can be easily replicated means training can happen at any store.
“It’s really helpful to have a reliable point of sale system that is learnable, easy to copy and paste for other locations, and we can just make our training more generalised,” says People’s Manager Clarissa Lau.
Anyone who comes to our store here at Rosebery can work at Rockdale and CQ and know the same system, which is good.”
Clarissa Lau → People's Manager
Keeping the lines moving with Square
The Future of Kosta’s Takeaway
Whilst further expansion is on the horizon, Benji has no plans to grow Kosta’s into the next empire. Quality and consistency are still incredibly important, as is having a good time. The team is poised to be at four stores by the end of 2024, with plans to grow interstate next year.
“We’re not trying to change the world,” says Benji. “At the end of the day, we make sandwiches, we build a good culture, have a good time. And Square’s been a great partner to do that and deliver with Kosta’s Takeaway. As long as we can keep it personable, then we will keep growing.”
