Meet the business and franchise entrepreneurs creating their empires around FNQ
Find out how these top 10 business and franchise entrepreneurs have grown their original small business ideas into Far Northern empires.
Cairns
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Cairns is home to many franchise and business owners who have grown their original small business ideas into the Far Northern empires.
We took a look at some of the region’s biggest names in FNQ business, how they got there and what their plans are for the future.
James Burman is the owner of Jimmy’s Burgers and Howlin’ Jay’s, two well-known Cairns foodie locations.
Opening Jimmy’s Burgers six years ago, it only took a year for Howlin’ Jay’s to follow.
Growing up in a family involved with restaurants, Mr Burman said it was a natural move for him to start a career in creating experiences.
“Within the first six months to a year of opening Jimmy’s, I had a good idea for another eatery experience that I thought could work and I went for it,” he said.
The businesses employ 30 staff members at any given time between the two locations.
“Having two businesses is a learning curve for sure, running two teams in two different locations makes you grow as a leader very quickly, but you find what works,” Mr Burman said.
“I’ve got plans for new concepts in town, personally I’m waiting for Covid to simmer off and then look at what people are seeking, then I’ll make some moves based on what customers are after.
“I made these venues with the local in mind: they’re loud, they’re fun and very Cairns,” he said.
“And from day-dot, the city has taken very well to the concepts.”
It would be amiss to not have one of the biggest family franchises in the Far North on the list. The Piccone family have two IGA supermarkets, two shopping villages, a liquor store and a bakery to their name.
Starting with shares in the Edmonton butchery and bakery, the family business name grew and moved through generations, moving most recently from the late Lou Piccone who took over the business in 1957, to his sons John and Peter Piccone currently at the head of business operations.
John Piccone said the brothers came into running the business in 1990, but always went back to their dad for advice.
“Our father was the patriarch of our family and our business and he knew so much that we always referred back to him, he was involved until he got sick,” he said.
“My grandparents moved to Edmonton in 1930 where they worked in the butcher and bakery until eventually, my grandma started her own general store.
“In 1954, they wanted to go back and visit Italy and they asked our dad to look after the stores and by the time they got back, he had it running so well that he asked to buy it off them.
“He turned the business around and it’s only grown from there.”
ANGELO MARANO
Marano’s Fuel CEO Angelo Marano is the third generation of his family to be involved in their business since it was established over 60 years ago by his father Joe, and his uncle Sam.
Marano’s Fuel has grown from its first service station at Miallo, established in the 1940s, to now owning and operating 14 service stations in the Far North from Ravenshoe to Cooktown, employing over 120 locals across all locations.
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HAYDON KEMP
Haydon Kemp started his business as a clothing store in 2012 on Oceania Walk, but Refuge Barbers and Apparel has grown to a barber shop, apparel and coffee from three storefronts in the past ten years.
Mr Kemp said he added an Edmonton store to his two Grafton Street locations last year after seeing a need on the southside.
“People can’t always make it into town and some don’t like coming into town either,” he said.
“There was a market to expand and I thought you know what, let’s give it a go.”
Currently employing 13 staff members across all stores, Mr Kemp laughed at the thought that his retail store has now become, primarily, a barber shop.
“I put one barber on, then two, then three … and this is where I’m at now,” he said.
“In the future, there could be room for me to expand, but you’ve just got to chill for a bit and focus on what you’ve got, something I’m doing now.”
Christine Vincent is the sole director and licensee of six McDonald’s franchises in Cairns and subsequently, is responsible for over 500 staff members.
Entering the market as a franchise owner with McDonald’s in 1994, she began owning a store in Kingaroy before moving to Tasmania with her career, and eventually settling in Cairns.
Ms Vincent owns the McDonald’s storefronts at Cairns Central, the Esplanade, Woree, Edmonton, Gordonvale and Innisfail.
Caitlin Simms became a business woman in the peak of Covid, operating personal training sessions out of her garage. Now, she runs two successful fitness businesses in Cairns CBD.
“I officially opened my first business, Balance Performance Centre, in June 2020 post-lockdown,” Ms Simms said.
“I brought my PT clients from my garage into the new space but then I was fully booked out.
“I brought on a team of coaches and now there’s six full-time coaches including myself.”
But Ms Simms didn’t stop at Balance Performance Centre, opening her own pilates studio shortly after in January 2022.
“Balance Pilates Centre is fresh this year, I opened my doors to my PT clients exclusively in December 2021 as a soft launch first,” she said.
“Coaching for personal training and weights compared to pilates is very different, so I’ve employed some pilates-specific coaches and a few of them carry across to work in both spaces.”
When asked if she planned to expand her fitness empire further, Ms Simms said she will “never say never.”
“I have some ideas that would do well in Cairns, it’s such a great community and there’s so many avenues that can be opened to keep building on where I’m going,” she said.
“But my focus right now is my current businesses and getting Balance Pilates up to a speed where classes are fully booked and thriving, that’s my main priority.”
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Brothers Matthew and Vince Toohey opened their first Zambrero restaurant in 2013 on Lake Street. Since then, the pair have expanded their business to three restaurants, taking over the storefront in Cairns Central in 2015 before opening an Earlville store in 2018.
Vince Toohey said expansion of the business came down to public interest and success.
“We were doing well following the Lake Street restaurant,” he said.
“The people of Cairns liked the product and we understood the landscape of the region and how best to build the business within it.”
Currently employing 50 people at any given time, the brothers have plans for the future of Zambrero Cairns.
“We definitely have plans to expand,” Mr Toohey said.
“We’re always looking on the north side of town but we just haven’t found the right location or developer to create the sight yet.”
STEPHEN LEE AND ALI SLOTEMAKER
Stephen Lee and Ali Slotemaker began their business venture as Industry One Coffee and have only grown, moving up from a small industrial warehouse business to operating a roastery and cafe.
Renamed and rebranded as White Whale Coffee Roasters, the business has grown from their Portsmith roastery, expanding with Teddy Espresso Edge Hill, as well as contract roasting for other local cafes.
Ms Slotemaker said they opened Teddy Espresso in May 2021 after looking for two years to a location to broaden their business.
“We wanted to operate in a high profile location so people could experience our coffee without coming deep into the industrial area of Portsmith,” she said.
“We’ve built our business up and managed to create a casual drop-in environment, a relaxed space for good coffee.”
Duane Cash came from a family of tattoo artists, so it’s no surprise he has established his own tattoo business in Cairns.
Cairns City Tattoo was first opened in 1985 under the name Cairns Skin Artistry on Lake Street and has since expanded to multiple locations.
At one point, the business had four storefronts on Spence, Sheridan and Abbott Streets and another in Earlville.
Mr Cash has since scaled back the business with three shops in the CBD on Shields, Grafton and Abbott Streets that house a multitude of artists both based in Cairns and travelling.
Anne and Rob Webber have been the faces of Cairns’ coffee scene for more than three decades.
Their business Coffee Works began in 1988 as a family-run market stall operating out of Rusty’s Markets.
Now, the pair have boosted their business to six locations across the Far North and operate an online store.
Coffee Works gourmet stores can be found in Port Douglas, Cairns, the original Rusty’s Market, Townsville and Atherton, with a powerhouse operational store in Mareeba.
Broadening their horizons, the business is known for its range of coffees, chocolates, liqueurs and teas.
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