Konbini Convenience
When Stefanie Breschi left a career in property development to start a restaurant, she was warned by her peers that she wouldn’t make any money in hospitality. But a trip to Japan 15 years ago had left its mark. “There was just something really profound about Japan to me and the way that things were done there, and the food and the ethos and the principles,” Stef says. That feeling drew her back to Japan every year, until she eventually decided Melbourne needed a taste of this experience.
Her debut project was Future Future, a neo-Japanese restaurant she opened in Richmond, Melbourne, in 2018, with Alex Boffa (co-founder of Frank Body), Shanon Peach and head chef Atsushi Kawakami. Winning over diners with its inventive take on Japanese cuisine, Future Future’s success gave the trio the foundation and confidence to introduce their second and newest restaurant: Suupaa.
Launched in Cremorne in 2025, Suupaa is an ode to the Japanese ‘konbini’ (convenience store). Konbini are synonymous with Japan, loved by locals and travellers – a one-stop shop open 24/7 with ready-to-eat meals, snacks, drinks, books, even medicine and alcohol. “Basically, a convenience store has everything,” says Atsushi, who is Japanese-born. “Anything you think of, you can go to a convenience store, you can buy.” Inspired by how konbini thoughtfully tailor their offerings to season, context and occasion, Stef felt such a concept would resonate with Melbourne’s love of food and culture.
Suupaa is part konbini-style, part fast-casual eatery. Customers can take away an onigiri or egg ‘sando’ (sandwich), sit down for ramen or donburi, or browse a shelf of niche magazines and house-made sauces. The venue is playful and spirited, offering curated delights alongside a dining experience that mirrors the spontaneity and care of Japanese konbini.
The concept of a convenience store was borrowed, but in Japan, it has become something that’s so unique to that country and culture. In a way, we borrowed that again and made it contextually relevant to Melbourne.”
Stefanie Breschi → Co-founder
Finding the perfect spot
Cremorne, with its mix of offices and limited food options, was the place to bring Suupaa to life. Alex had spent a decade working there, witnessing a lunchtime exodus as office workers headed to neighbouring suburbs. Stef had also noticed a gap between fast-food, fast-casual and higher-end dining in Melbourne – something Japan did very well, where everyday meals carried the vibe and energy of higher-end dining, yet remained affordable. “We were just waiting for the right time and the right site,” Stef says.
The original idea for Suupaa was purely takeaway – until they fell in love with a space that was far larger than planned. Halving it didn’t make sense, and it was too big for takeaway alone. So, they rewrote the plan. That extra room became an opportunity to layer dine-in, takeaway and retail together. And for that, they needed flexible technology that could unite everything under one roof.
Using Square to power Suupaa
After weighing up their options, Suupaa chose Square as an integrated POS solution for restaurant and retail operations. “We were doing our research around what point-of-sale system was going to be the most suited to our hybrid model,” says Stef. “We had a set of pretty unique needs.”
Square was basically the only system out there that could tick every box, could offer us the full suite and end-to-end solution, and somewhere where all of our data was centralised, which is huge.”
“Stefanie → “Co-owner”
With QR code ordering and Square Online, Suupaa keeps pace with the weekday business crowd. Diners place and pay for their orders straight from their tables, which Stef says significantly speeds up the dine-in experience – critical for time-poor local workers. “They don’t have to wait for someone to take their order, and they don’t have to wait for someone to bring them the bill. They can get in, get out as quickly or slowly as they’d like.”
How Square powers this hybrid business
Mistakes are minimised as orders flow instantly to the back of house, meaning no miscommunication or delays. “Square is simple and fast,” Atsushi says. “The customer orders, and it comes straight to the kitchen. There’s no time lost. Especially for this business; we are high volume, quick food, so speed is very important.”
Customers can sign up for Konbini Coins (underpinned by Square Loyalty) to earn coins per dollar spent and be rewarded with discounts or signature items as they progress through tiers. “Those customers definitely return regularly, and we found that the uptake is really strong, probably stronger than we expected, in only six months of trade,” shares Stef.
It’s a reflection to us that people really value a loyalty system, and when they like what you’re doing, they want to come back, and they also should be rewarded in a way for their continued patronage.”
Stefanie Breschi → Co-founder
For Alex, the appeal of Square is the possibilities it unlocks. “We want to explore catering, we want to do delivery and all those kinds of things that we haven’t done before with Future Future. We wanted to alleviate as much of that as we can with the potential of Square.”
Putting a spin on Japanese flavours
In the same way konbini adapt to their surroundings, Suupaa reimagines Japanese classics through a Melbourne lens, with R&D chef Dennis Yong’s bootleg approach delivering unexpected twists to the menu. Among the more traditional offerings is a pork loin tonkatsu drizzled with miso-Vegemite sauce, while the matcha Milo – an iced, high-grade matcha base topped with Milo foam – is already gaining cult status.
Their take echoes an industry trend: 2025 Square survey data showed that 35% of Aussie restaurant leaders view adding unique, one-of-a-kind menu items as a key way to stay competitive – the third highest response after faster customer communication (40%) and marketing (39%).
The team spent two years refining every menu item before letting anyone outside their inner circle taste it. And it doesn’t stop there. Stef says: “We’re constantly questioning ourselves and every single item on the menu, and saying, ‘Is that as good as it can be?’ and tweaking, chasing the 1%.”
“We’re still improving every day,” adds Dennis. “The dishes keep evolving. And I think that’s what’s beautiful about it, this whole thing.”
Life after launch
Just months after opening, Suupaa is thriving. Being next door to Baker Bleu and Adidas doesn’t hurt either, and their shared pull has helped Dover Street come alive. After seeing the popular bakery’s seven-day trading, the team felt encouraged to extend Suupaa’s opening days to weekends. Saturday service was full from the first day, and when Sundays were added shortly after, that became the busiest day of the week. Alex recalls arriving one morning and seeing a queue stretching down the street, thinking it was for Baker Bleu – only to realise that people were waiting for Suupaa to open.
The team sees plenty of room to grow. Potentials like new loyalty rewards and additional locations are all on the table. For now, Suupaa is blossoming as a creative, joyful space that offers a slice of the much-loved konbini culture – one that might never have existed had Stef listened to her critics.
“I think it’s really sad that people are discouraged from pursuing ideas in the space, and that’s a reflection of just how challenging the environment is in hospo,” she says.
“But, obviously, we’re up for the challenge, and I think it’s this business mindset as well as all of the stuff you experience in a hospitality venue – the food, the hospitality itself – that contribute to and support a successful outcome.”
