Coffee king Dean Merlo has a simple philosophy about how to succeed

The Brisbane businessman who built one of Australia’s biggest independently owned coffee-roasting operations has a remarkably simple philosophy about how to succeed.

Dean Merlo’s business churns through about 20 tonnes of coffee beans every week.

The Brisbane businessman who built one of Australia’s biggest independently owned
coffee-roasting operations has a remarkably simple philosophy about how to succeed.
It’s hardly rocket science. It’s really just common sense that evolved from an old-school tradition of treating people well.

“We learn our customers’ names, we follow up on any complaints, we never say ‘no’, and we pay attention to exactly what customers want and look at our business
from their perspective,’’ Dean Merlo told University of Queensland business students during a guest lecture in April.

Merlo celebrated 25 years in business last November and he and his business partner, CEO James Wilkinson, still have an infectious enthusiasm for sourcing the best beans
on the planet.

“We love coming to work every day,’’ Merlo says, and it’s clear he actually means it. “Things are exciting.’’

From humble beginnings in a small CBD coffee nook opened in 1992, the Merlo empire today includes 19 branded coffee outlets and six espresso bars.

It operates 10 roasting houses, which supply coffee to more than 1500 cafes and restaurants nationally.

With a 280-strong workforce, the company churns through about 20 tonnes of coffee beans every week.

It promotes environmentally friendly initiatives and Merlo actively takes part in philanthropic endeavours.

But he keeps his cards close to his chest, refusing to divulge any figures on his revenue or whether it’s growing.

Merlo, 56, has been cautious about expanding too quickly and has no interest in going public.

He says he’s happy to keep his borrowings low as he stays focused on organic growth.

To that end, he’s overseeing the most significant property development in the company’s history.

It’s a new turn-key roasting centre on Fison Ave East in Eagle Farm, expected to be completed by the end of August.

Merlo acquired the industrial warehouse property early last year for $3 million, with the total project cost expected to reach about $5.5 million. While the new complex will handle distribution, the group’s administrative headquarters will remain in Bowen Hills.

Brisbane's coffee king Dean Merlo.

Despite decades in the game, Merlo has a remarkably light footprint in southern states.

The group established a presence in Melbourne’s historic Queen Victoria Markets in 2016 and has flagged a wider push across the state.

Surprisingly, Merlo is not a player in Sydney, although he says he’s “putting some feelers out right now”.

Overseas growth is a mixed picture, with a Merlo store opened in Shanghai last year and “trading brilliantly’’.

But plans to establish a beachhead in New York have been put on ice.

Merlo’s passion for all things related to coffee stems from a family history in the hospitality game.

His grandfather, who ran a trattoria in the northern Italian town of Tirano, migrated in 1950 to Australia, where he laboured in the cane fields of Mackay.

After moving the family to Brisbane in 1958, his son
Gino opened Cafe Milano in the Queen Street Mall two years later.

It’s a source of family pride that they brought with them a La San Marco, the first Italian espresso machine ever seen in Queensland.

Merlo worked in his father’s Cafe Milano as a teenager, and has fond memories of serving gin and tonics to the Queen during the 1982 Commonwealth Games.

But he took a long and circuitous route to where he is today. After studying law and working as a judge’s associate, Merlo concluded that the profession wasn’t for him.

Later, he flogged Driza-Bone jackets in London and ran a mobile billboard business in Los Angeles.

He also worked as a women’s shoe salesman, merchant banker, professional conference organiser and inbound tourism operator.

Luckily, during his time in LA, he had an epiphany.

He noticed that ground-floor commercial spaces had coffee shops – and no one was providing that service back home in Brisbane.

In many ways, Merlo’s life has gone full circle.

He grew up in New Farm and still lives there with his wife, Kath, and their two sons.

Merlo is passionate about lawn bowls and, like his father, now serves as president of the local association.

When it comes time to escape the urban jungle, the family decompresses at a property in Boonah, southwest of Brisbane.

But there’s something that keeps drawing him back to Brisbane – it’s the hot beverage most of us crave every morning.