Hog’s Breath restaurants going through rebirth after two franchises close

IT’S been a family favourite in Australia for decades. Now with two franchise closures in a week, this popular restaurant chain is revealing how it’s fighting to stay in the market.

Hog’s Australia’s Steakhouse CEO Ross Worth says high rents at The Barracks precinct contributed to the closure of the Brisbane restaurant. File picture

HOG’S Australia’s Steakhouse CEO Ross Worth said the iconic Queensland restaurant chain is well placed for the future despite the recent closure of two franchises within a week.

The chain shut its dine-in restaurant at The Barracks, on Petrie Terrace, on April 22, just six days after closing the Brighton Le Sands, New South Wales outlet.

Mr Worth said the Petrie Terrace outlet, the seventh to open in Queensland and eighth in Australia, succumbed to rising costs while a lack of parking proved terminal for the Brighton Le Sands restaurant.

“The Barracks, as an example, we had been trading there for 26 years and it was disappointing to close the doors … but with the rising cost of rents we needed … to make some tough decisions,” he said.

While the chain recently closed restaurants, it has opened two fast-food Hog’s Express outlets, including one in the Myer Centre in Brisbane’s CBD, since October and a dine-in restaurant was set to open in Perth in September.

Ross Worths says the Hog’s Breath brand is going through a ‘rebirth’.

Mr Worth said the brand, which boasts 80 restaurants across Australia and New Zealand, was in essence going through a “rebirth” and charging into the digital age with confidence.

Customers will soon be able to use a smart tablet to place their order at any Hog’s restaurant.

The tablet ordering technology had been trialled at Hog’s three Funky Mexican Cantina franchises and also their fast-food outlets with great success, he said.

“There’s no doubt times are challenging and as business owners we need to evolve and make sure our business suits the requirements of the market,” Mr Worth said.

“We are currently running, in our Mexican concept, that customers can order off a tablet … and we are going to start rolling that out into Hog’s.

“What we have found is that the customer at the table will spend more when ordering by themselves than when we have a wait person addressing them.”

He said Hog’s primary business was dine-in restaurants and express outlets were to complement their major franchises.

There were no plans to greatly expand Hog’s Express to tackle burger giants McDonald’s and Hungry Jack’s head-on, he said.

“We, as a brand, wanted to secure the future to include a quick service option and that’s where Hog’s Express came into it,” he said.

“Our business is full service restaurants and to complement the brand, and take up opportunities in the market place where people are busy and time poor.

“We are a slow and steady growth organisation and we will continue to grow the express model but we are not out to compete with them (McDonald’s and Hungry Jack’s) in regards to volume and numbers.”