Zarraffa’s coffee boss Kenton Campbell’s new venue ahead of 2032 Olympics

Games bosses are still searching for venues, but Gold Coast coffee king Kenton Campbell has already built the perfect party precinct for our Olympic athletes.

While the argument over Olympic venues continues, one Gold Coast business legend has already built the perfect place for the athletes to party.

Zarraffa’s coffee tsar Kenton Campbell, who first built the brand from the backstreets of Southport, last year pivoted from brews to beers at his $50 million Distillery Road Market precinct in Eagleby – and now he’s digging for gold … medallists.

Opening just weeks ago, Mr Campbell said DRM’s new Food and Entertainment District was perfectly positioned to catch Olympic competitors, no matter where the ultimate SEQ stadium might end up.

“We’re not just between the Gold Coast and Brisbane, we’re right in the middle of southeast Queensland … so we’ve got the athletes covered no matter where they end up competing,” said Mr Campbell.

Kenton Campbell

“This is a real passion project for me, I wanted to create a space for concerts, markets, gatherings … we’ve got it all covered. And the 2032 Games are front of mind.

“The politicians can all keep arguing about event venues, but we have the post-event party precinct sorted.”

Mr Campbell said he was inspired to build a concert and event venue for musicians and audiences alike, and he was inspired by another Gold Coast legend – pop superstar Amy Shark.

He said the F.E.D. was intended to be a home for local musical talent through to major international acts, with the capacity for 2000 people in its outdoor entertainment area.

Festivals were also on Mr Campbell’s agenda, with the precinct including a large indoor market hall within a 5000 sqm footprint and the ability to host well over 10,000 patrons at multistage ticketed events.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate (pictured right) with Brisbane Organising Committee for the 2032 Olympic Games chief Andrew Liveris at the Carrara Indoor Sports Centre.

“I remember hearing Amy Shark talking about how the Gold Coast was losing so many live music venues, and how the northern end of the strip especially was missing out,” he said.

“You can busk on the Coast, but where do you go from there? Where do you build a following and hone your live act?

“This was around the time that Night Quarter was closing at Helensvale and it really lit a fire in me.

“I’ve lived in that northern area for a long time now, and while it has so much to offer, it misses out on a lot in comparison to the rest of the Coast.

“Rather than wait for someone else to build something for the area, we’ve built it ourselves – and I have to thank our Zarraffa’s patrons for that – and now we just want to fill it with the best acts and the biggest audiences.

“So Amy, if you’re free … I’ve got just the space for you.”

Mr Campbell said the success of F.E.D. meant that, for once, the north outstripped the Coast when it came to culture and entertainment.

He said while he fully supported spaces like Miami Marketta, this was the same sort of idea but ‘on steroids’.

Perentie founder, Kenton Campbell, inside his new boutique brewery. Kenton is also head of Zarraffas Coffee.

“It’s not a competition though, we need as many spaces like this as possible,” he said.

“But this is next level, anyway. We have a helicopter pad out the back.

“Our vision is to keep aiming for bigger and better performers. I have my eye on Ed Sheeran. Ed, we can’t afford you but if you want to play here, you’ll love it. And I promise we’ll show you a good time.”

While it’s not quite Ed Sheeran, Mr Campbell said Australian rock legends Grinspoon were already booked to perform in October, while supergroup the Filthy Animals, made up of members of Ozrock bands like Dragon, John Butler Trio and Rose Tattoo, had dubbed the venue its new home.

He said while hosting parties and rock shows might not seem the top priority for the area between the Gold Coast and Brisbane, which has struggled socio-economically compared to its southern and northern neighbours, he believed it could change the dynamics of the neighbourhoods.

“A lot of factors contribute to youth crime, but I do believe that creating a space where young people can work, gather and be entertained is really important,” he said.

“You know, when they took Operation D.R.A.G. away, it was so stupid. The police knew it, too, it was something that the young kids loved and idle hands do the devil’s work.

“This precinct gives them a place to go, whether to work or to hang out. Before we came here this area was being used as a gathering place but it was derelict, it was not exactly all legal what was happening here.

“Now it’s not just legal, it’s built by the locals and for the locals.”

While Mr Campbell is most famous for his Zarraffa’s empire, he said his Eagleby compound was his first exercise into true entrepreneurship as he considered the coffee company a traditional business bet.

Pics of Zarraffa's boss Kenton Campbell at his new Drive Through Only (DTO) outlet at Beaudesert, serving coffee to a customer. Pics Adam Head

Opening his first cafe in 1996 with three tables and nine chairs, just over 20 years later the chain opened its 50th drive-through and its 85th store in Australia, also establishing its headquarters at Eagleby.

Covid saw the company downsize, it now sits at 76 stores, but Mr Campbell told the Bulletin in March that expansion plans were on again. However, he said the company would “never again” build another shopping centre cafe.

“I owe so much to our Zarraffa’s family, from our staff to our franchisees to our customers … but I know this change has been tough for some,” he said.

“We’re finally back on the growth trajectory but it has been a horrible transition at times. Still, it was the medicine we needed to take.

“We only have seven stores left to transition to drive-through, so for some the end of their lease will be the end of their time with us – that’s how business happens, sometimes you make your money and then it’s time to go.

“But for others they’ll be moving to a drive-through store once we find a new space. We try to keep it close to where they are, we know so many of our franchisees have families, we don’t want to be the disruptor.

“But the hard part is finding the space for the next drive-through, between landlords and building costs, we have to make the numbers add up.

“I’d certainly put the call out to all developers that we want to grow … and if they want long-term franchisees who pull in hundreds of cars, call me.”

While the search for the next coffee house continues, Campbell is confident it will be accomplished with less confusion than our Olympic organisers scouting for stadiums.

And when at last that latter quest is complete, Campbell is absolutely game for the after-Games.

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Originally published as Zarraffa’s coffee boss Kenton Campbell’s new venue ahead of 2032 Olympics