Buoy owner Brodie Green shares why he left Burleigh Heads and the moment he thought his empire was crumbling

A Gold Coast coffee shop owner has shared why he sold his Burleigh Heads venue, outlining that he and his staff couldn’t walk down the street without being “screamed at and abused”.

Buoy owner Brodie Green shares why he left Burleigh Heads and the moment he thought his empire was crumbling. Picture, John Gass

Head cradled in his hands, there was an epic storm brewing in Brodie Green’s coffee cup.

The 33-year-old king of the grind, who turned a James Street ATM hole-in-the-wall into Seadog, voted the city’s best coffee, was watching his empire crumble.

Just days away from opening Buoy, his new venue at the $50 million Oxley development in Nobby’s Beach, funded by the sale of Seadog, the buyer pulled out.

With dozens of staff, loans maxed out and zero dollars in his bank account, Mr Green was sitting speechless in despair at a table outside his dream-turned-nightmare new cafe, when an angel appeared in the form of a friend.

As he told her his story, both of them in tears, the friend’s husband spoke up.

“Brodie, you have always been so resilient, you don’t deserve this. We’ll cover you until you find a new buyer.”

From the tiniest cafe on the Coast, Brodie Green has been on the business grind and is now about to open a brand new restaurant, Moustache, on the Nobby's strip, to accompany the booming Buoy Cafe. Picture Glenn Hampson

Months later, Buoy was booming, and Seadog, set up for just $7000 six years ago, was sold for a rumoured $150,000.

Now, Mr Green is about to open another establishment, Moustache, at The Oxley as he continues his investment in the ‘new Nobby’s’.

It’s certainly a case of watch this space … indeed, business schools will surely one day study this millennial’s make-it-work ethic and the incredible miracles of commerce it has produced.

“When you’re really passionate and you really care, you just have that belief that you will make it work, you don’t give up. Even with no money, I’ve always been able to figure it out,” Mr Green said.

“Running a small business is not easy, we’ve seen that with so many closing recently. The coffee business especially is tough.

“I think the Gold Coast would be one of the most saturated markets in the world, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. You have to make your own space.”

In fact, that’s exactly the story of how Seadog started.

As the third generation of coffee purveyors (his grandfather was the city’s sole distributor for Robert Timms and his father also a coffee distributor) Mr Green tried to ignore the calling of the cup, but eventually his inner entrepreneur could not resist.

He recalled a childhood where little brown beans would spill from the family car and the smell of coffee was omnipresent, but said starting small with his own coffee cart at the markets was a low-cost entry to business.

Brodie Green in 2018 when he took out a lease for a cafe in a spot that used to be an ATM. It was the Coast's smallest cafe. Photo by Richard Gosling

While he now handles a staff of close to 50, with its own human resources manager, Mr Green said he only completed one year of a business degree at Griffith University (the parking situation was too stressful).

“I loved doing that street-style coffee but I was so desperate to take the next step and get my own shop, but I didn’t know how I would do that,” he said.

“I was working in hospitality and those wages don’t get you very far, and I was just miserable and depressed thinking, ‘How do I start my own business?’ when I saw this ad pop up for a 4sq m site on James St in Burleigh for $150 per week.

“I called the real estate office five times and no one answered so I just went to the site to check it out and the realtor saw me and came over. I could see exactly how it was going to work. The space was epic.

“The realtor didn’t want me doing coffee, they felt the street had enough cafes, so I said I’d do a juice bar. But it didn’t stipulate that on the contract, so I just started making coffees anyway.

“The agent was in shock but once it was successful he had no problem. He and I are mates to this day.

“The first day I think we made $50, then it went to $100 per day, then $200 and then we broke $250 and I was stoked. Next thing it was $700 every day and we ended up opening a second site, Seadog on the Park near the bowls club, which was just a month-by-month lease.

“It was absolutely a lesson in finding that opening and wedging yourself in there.”

It was a lesson he repeated when he decided to pursue a new space at Nobby Beach.

Despite pitching his cafe concept a number of times to developer Dankav, it was knocked back. But Mr Green knew what he envisioned would work – he just needed that face-to-face conversation.

Brodie Green when he opened Seadog in the Park, at Burleigh Bowls club. Picture Glenn Hampson

Once again, a friend came to the rescue when a Seadog customer mentioned she knew Oxley owner and developer Daniel Veitch.

Next thing Mr Green and Mr Veitch had a meeting and Buoy was afloat.

As to why he was so keen to make the move north, Mr Green said he wanted to be part of Mr Veitch’s vision for Nobby Beach, but also he’d had enough of crime in Burleigh.

“How do I put this … the biggest difference between this area and Burleigh is safety,” he said.

“You can walk down the streets here and not be screamed at and abused. In Burleigh, my staff were verbally and physically abused and I was physically assaulted in the park.

“There was a homeless guy who would chase children down the street and it’s been happening for years but police can’t do anything unless he commits an actual crime. It’s not a nice environment and I was sick of it. It was too much.

“One time I had to call the police because I found a man who had passed away in the park, his body was there for 24 hours before it was noticed, so much happens there in Burleigh that’s not good.

“This area doesn’t have any of that.

“With the Oxley here, they spent $50 million and re-energised the street. It was already a nice neighbourhood, even with the light rail construction. It’s active and vibrant and friendly.”

With his focus now firmly on Nobby Beach, Mr Green said his next offering, Moustache, set to open next weekend, would bring something new to the area.

Drawing on the tiny history of Seadog, he said the Moustache site was only 26sq m, but it packed a big punch.

From the tiniest cafe on the Coast, Brodie Green has been on the business grind and is now about to open a brand new restaurant, Moustache, on the Nobby's strip, to accompany the booming Buoy Cafe. Picture Glenn Hampson

From 6am to midday, the site will be the newest spot for espresso and breakfast, with a few tables inside, more on the front-facing footpath and a charming hidden alleyway behind that brings a European flavour.

Between midday and 4pm, Mr Green said the restaurant would reset, reopening in the late afternoon to become a wine and cocktail bar with sophisticated small plates.

Curated by chef Rodrigo Paraboa, whose resume includes Paper Daisy at Cabarita and Mermaid Beach’s own legendary Little Truffle, Mr Green said the menu operated on the Italian inspiration of ‘cucina povera’, or peasant’s kitchen.

“It’s simple but sophisticated. It’s somewhere you can go for a special occasion or it can be your local every week,” he said.

“You can order a half-bottle of wine for no extra charge, you can order a two-sip martini … it’s all about fine food and drink that can suit any budget.”

It’s not just Mr Green who has grand plans for Nobby’s.

Alongside Moustache, the owners of Rafiki Cafe will open a licensed sashimi and raw bar, while grillhouse Lars also debuted recently.

Upstairs of the Lavarack Rd building, construction continues on the new restaurant from the owners of Rick Shores, rumoured to have a Latin American theme with an incredible rooftop bar.

Given Mr Veitch’s commitment to the neighbourhood, Mr Green said further plans could be revealed soon.

“Some of those shops along the front strip need a bit of renewal and traffic and I think we’ll bring that. A rising tide lifts all boats,” he said.

“We don’t want to see empty shops or vape stores, this area is too good for that.

“It’s just great to be here at a really exciting time for Nobby’s and to be working with other local business owners who are so invested in the community.”

It might be hard work right now, but this is truly a grind for the greater good.