Melbournians love their sandwiches and pastries, and one team is making their mark on the CBD. Joe La and Brian Taing now have three city locations under their belt: Sloppy Joe’s Deli (sandwiches galore), FOC (‘Focaccia on Collins’, specialising in, well, focaccia) and Bloomwood (creative pastries), with more on the horizon.
A love of hospitality
Joe and Brian have been in hospitality for over 10 years now having previously run other venues like Braybrook Stn and Workshop Brothers. It was during the COVID lockdowns that Sloppy Joe’s was born in suburbian Melbourne. “That’s due to the whole working from home movement and everyone buying takeaway food in the suburbs,” says Joe. “So that’s why we opened up in Bentleigh first.”
Their sandwiches are a feast for the eyes (and mouth of course). The Truffle Mushie Melt is one of their best sellers, and pairs roasted portobello mushrooms with caramelised onions, truffle salsa and three cheeses all between buttered toasted sourdough. It’s decadently delicious. Accompanying these are their takes on donuts and creative drinks like their Coco Matcha (yes, coconut water and matcha is actually an incredible pairing).
The success in Bentleigh led to the opening of a second location in Melbourne’s city center, despite the city’s quiet streets post-lockdown.
The city hadn’t really had toasties as much. It’s more of a suburban thing, like an inner city suburb thing. So we wanted to hit a bigger market. By being in the city, we’d be able to service office workers, students, tourists, so we’d be able to sell a lot more sandwiches to a lot more people.”
Joe La → Co-Owner
Expanding to more concepts
After outgrowing their city location, Sloppy Joe’s moved a couple of blocks up Queen Street, but the team still had a lease on the smaller city venue. So of course, they open another concept. Noticing focaccia was becoming big in Melbourne, they opened FOC, short for Focaccia on Collins. “It was a hit instantly,” Joe explains.
The team had taken out their first Square Loan* to purchase new equipment, and soon took out another one to help pay the bond on their second city location. “We had subleased a friend’s tenancy. When they wanted us to take on the head tenancy, we had to come up with a large sum quickly for the bond which wasn’t a small amount,” says Joe. “Square Loans allowed us to access funds very quickly. Paying it back has been a breeze. Having a percentage deducted from our sales doesn’t feel like money is taken away from us. We could forecast how long it would take us to pay the loan off using our average sales.”
If that wasn’t enough, their latest venue Bloomwood is another concept altogether, this time a bakery focused on creative pastries. Joe says Melbourne’s pastry game is a little more traditional, so the team wanted to bring something more out-of-the-box. “We basically gave the pastry chefs full reign of the menu,” says Joe. “It was a big gamble, but it paid off.”
Also located in Melbourne CBD, at Bloomwood you’ll find lychee lemon flower pastries, almond miso croissants, and signature drinks like their strawberry matcha which you can pair with “Bloomtini” – mini croissants on a stick for dipping. These pastries have gone viral for a reason: they’re innovative, beautiful, and well crafted.
Tech to keep the lines moving
In managing his businesses, Joe knows technology is vital to streamlining operations and enhancing customer experience. A decade-long user of Square, Sloppy Joe’s, FOC, and Bloomwood are all powered by Square’s integrated payments hardware and point of sale software.
“We started using Square because it was easier to set up, and low cost as well,” Joe notes, recalling his early adoption of Square Reader at Workshop Brothers. “Over time I’ve just adopted almost every piece of hardware and offering you’ve had, which I love. Every time you guys come up with new tech, I try to implement it.”
Both Sloppy Joe’s and Bloomwood use Square Register for counter orders, which allows customers to check their order on the customer display as it’s being placed, and then pay with full transparency. Both venues also use the handheld Square Terminal when the queue starts to snake out the door to help speed up orders.
“We’re also a destination spot, so these destination people will spend more time at the counter, ordering and asking what’s the best. So we got Square Terminal so we can speed up the queue, and regulars that just want a quick sandwich, we can just punch it through and that order will get sent to the kitchen,” says Joe.
More automation the streamline service
To help get through their lines and rushes, Sloppy Joe’s and Bloomwood have also implemented Square Kiosk for customers to place their own takeaway orders.
Instantly, the second that it was set up, people were using it. And in doing so, I hired more people in the kitchen instead of hiring an extra person to stand at the counter. On a revenue level, that person in the kitchen can end up making a lot more in value than someone standing at the counter.”
Joe La → Co-Owner
Square Kitchen Display System also keeps their front of house and back of house in sync at Sloppy Joe’s. Orders at the counter are displayed on a screen in their kitchen, allowing their chefs to keep track of everything. “Prior to using KDS it was just dockets, and you just had dockets flying left, right and center, and that’s where orders get missing,” explains Joe. “So now we’ve implemented the KDS alongside dockets for when we are bagging up. So no mistakes. It’s well streamlined, as well.”
On the back end, Joe and his business partners use Square’s analytics and reporting to see what is selling well and when their busy times are. “It’s presented well, it’s easy to read, and easy to understand. So you sit down with the business partners and look at everything, the breakdowns. It really helps make decisions,” says Joe.
An entrepreneurial spirit
Having been in the game for a while now, Joe attributes much of their success to flexibility and a willingness to explore new ideas. “If we were to cookie-stamp our concepts over and over, it’ll just take away the uniqueness of each kind of venture,” he explains. And you can see that in the excitement he gets when talking about new concepts and ideas. He’s an entrepreneur. “There’s a backlog of concepts we want to bring on. We’re always thinking of new things, sussing out new things.”
Ultimately for Joe, success is more than just keeping the doors open. He wants to see his ideas come to life, and he wants to create a good customer experience. “Success for me is also being able to create spaces that people would enjoy and keep coming back for.” And look out – more venues are on the horizon.
*All loans are issued by Square AU Pty Ltd. (ABN 38 167 106 176). Valid Australian bank account is required. Actual fee depends upon payment card processing history, loan amount and other eligibility factors. A minimum payment of 1/18th of the initial loan balance is required every 60 days and full loan repayment is required within 18 months. Loan eligibility is not guaranteed. Eligibility criteria include consistent and continuous payment card processing through Square. All loans are subject to credit approval. Terms and conditions apply.
