Former policeman and lawyer, Nick and Adrian Rosato now run some of QLD’s best food venues

Apart from the fact they came from an Italian family and love food, these two Brisbane brothers say they are probably the most unlikely restaurant owners you’d ever meet

Meet two brothers behind one of Queensland’s booming hospitality groups as they talk about how they started and what makes their business relationship work.

Nick Rosato, 55, rawGROUP Hospitality director

We started with a coffee shop at Toombul Shopping Centre in the 1990s and have grown into a hospitality business that runs 19 different venues, including Madame Wu on the riverfront in Brisbane, Chu the Phat at South Brisbane and the Beach House Bar and Grill chain that has 10 venues across South East Queensland.

Apart from the fact we come from an Italian family and love food, Adrian and I are probably the most unlikely restaurant owners you’d ever meet.

I began my working life as a policeman and spent seven years in the force, in both uniform and plain clothes. Adrian studied law and business at university.

I was looking for a change and ended up buying a deli in Carindale where my wife Kylie had been working. Adrian worked for us on Thursday nights and Saturday mornings while he was studying.

Brothers and hospitality kings Nick and Adrian Rosato. Picture: Mark Cranitch

While we were running the deli, we found out about a café for sale at Toombul and Adrian and I decided to buy it. We had always got along pretty well, even though there was an eight-year age gap. Our brother-in-law Phil also bought into the café with us and we did a compete strip out and refit, creating a virtually new venue that we then ran nearly 10 years.

While we were tenants at Toombul, we got to be good friends with the shopping centre manager Clayton Williams. When we started looking around for the next challenge, Clayton became our partner and we formed rawGROUP which is a combination of our surnames, Rosato and Williams.

Things grew from there and rawGROUP opened its first licensed venue – the first Beach House Bar and Grill at Sunshine Plaza, Maroochydore in 2000.

The rest is history.

I think the reason things have worked for our business is that we each bring really different traits to the table. I’m impulsive and tend to jump at things while Adrian is incredibly thoughtful and contemplative. He’s the spreadsheet. Clayton, who has a background in the liquor industry, brings great foresight for selecting prime sites for new venues. And he’s a workaholic so he’s always getting something done.

Adrian and Nick Rosato at their Beach House Bar and Grill at Garden City. Picture: Tim Marsden

We have grown from a small family business to employing more than 500 staff and I’m really proud of that. It’s rewarding to know that our business is contributing to the economy but also that we’re able to provide work and impact the lives of so many people.

Like all companies, we’ve had our challenges over the years and made our share of mistakes but they were all learning experiences in their own way. I think the hardest part about running any business is being across all aspects of it. People tend to gravitate towards what they know or like and you need to constantly remind yourself that the other stuff is important as well.

What I’ve loved most about this job is that we continually challenge ourselves and are always looking for the next step ahead.

At the moment, we’re working on the new Madame Wu, to be opened on Circular Quay in Sydney early next year. It’s in a spectacular location at Bennelong and I can’t wait to showcase our Queensland culinary skills down south.

Adrian Rosato, 48, rawGROUP Hospitality Director

I was still at university when I bought into our first café at Toombul.

The reason I thought it was a good idea to own a coffee shop is because Nick and I had become really good friends with a family who owned a café and they were running a thriving business. I wanted to build the same thing.

It was the 90s and the café scene was different then. It was the beginning of our coffee culture in Queensland. There were far less cafes than there are these days so the ones that did exist were always busy. We created a modern, fresh space that served authentic espresso coffees at time when a lot of cafes in Brisbane were still serving instant coffee. rawGROUP arrived on the market just at the right time.

I enjoyed studying law at university and always thought I’d find a career in the legal industry, but the road took a different turn and I was happy to go along with it. In hindsight, I’m really glad I did.

Brothers and hospitality kings Adrian and Nick Rosato. Picture: Mark Cranitch

Myself, Nick, our brother-in-law Phil and Clayton have been adding restaurants to our group every year or so for the past two decades to the point that our business is now incredibly diverse with customers from all walks of life.

That poses its own challenges. What diners are looking for at Madame Wu is really different from their expectation of Beach House Bar and Grill. We need to make sure we’re catering to all of them in terms of the food and service we provide.

Adrian Rosato at Madame Wu in Brisbane.

These days, consumers are much more savvy about food and service and they go to places where they feel they are getting value for money and memorable experiences. Our daily goal is to provide that to every customer every day of the week at every venue we own.

The fact that people are now choosing to have careers in hospitality is a great change for the industry. In the early days, we had a large number of staff who used their jobs as a stepping stone to another career, so you’d get them all trained up and then they’d be off to something else. Having people who see hospitality and customer service as a profession means better experiences for our customers.

Even though I tend to focus on legal and financial matters, my favourite part of the job is developing dishes or drinks or experiences that our customers really enjoy. I love interacting with staff and finding out what’s resonating with people, what they’re liking and what’s got them talking.

Nick is better at the operational side of the business – dealing with suppliers and staff, maintenance and other day-to-day issues while Clayton is great with networking. I think the reason we’ve been successful is that we are different. I’m calm and measured while Nick and Clayton can be more aggressive.

Like all businesses, our biggest challenge is to continually evolve so we remain relevant to our market but we like to push ourselves as well which keeps things interesting. Expanding our footprint to other states is an exciting next step for us.