Tiny former ATM cafe will pay 3000 per cent less rent than Burleigh Heads competitors

THIS savvy entrepreneur is opening up a literal hole in the wall coffee shop in what used to be an ATM and the savings are huge. Is this the future of hospitality?

Brodie Green has taken out a lease for a cafe in a spot that used to be an ATM. Yep, that boarded up doorway will soon be a cafe. Photo by Richard Gosling

A LOCAL entrepreneur will pay 3000 per cent less rent than competitors by building his latest cafe in an ATM hole.

Cafe owner Brodie Green has signed a lease on a 2.8sq m hole in the wall where a Suncorp ATM formerly sat on James St, Burleigh Heads.

This ATM will soon be a funky coffee shop. Image from Google Earth.

The bank removed the ATM, spurring the leasing agent to put up an advertisement seeking expressions of interest for the tiny space, and Mr Green won with his coffee shop Seadog.

He said leasing the tiny spot is all the space he needs, in a prime location with far more reasonable rent, overheads and staff costs than leasing a normal shop.

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“I think anyone can see that it’s really hard to get started and be successful in the hospitality industry right now, so this spot is perfect for what I want to do,” Mr Green said.

Plenty of room for a coffee shop! Photo by Richard Gosling

“All I want to do is keep things simple and serve really high quality coffee so this kind of space is exactly what I need.

“This kind of hole in the wall concept is really popular in places like Japan and even Sydney and Melbourne so I think the Gold Coast is ready too.”

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Seadog is located on the western end of James St next to FoodWorks.

Nearby Burleigh Heads cafes and restaurants are paying anywhere from 30 to 70 times as much rent per week as the former ATM site.

Seadog is located next to FoodWorks on bustling James Street. Photo by Richard Gosling

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Mr Green, who also owned and operated The Collective’s Two Seasons Coffee, anticipated the tiny joint will be open for business in a month and said he would like to launch more in future.

“Moving forward I want to keep doing sites like this,” he said.

“Keeping your overheads and staff costs low is the key.

“Control those two variables that’s your best shot at success.”