Hospitality

Blake Read opened Beach Burrito with his wife and business partner Emma Read in late 2006. After arriving back from USA’s West Coast with a deep knowledge and appreciation for mexican cuisine whilst acknowledging Sydney’s then lack of Mexican food and keen thirst for an ice cold frozen margarita, the Reads decided to combine the cuisine and the culture – resulting in the birth of Beach Burrito Co.

Since opening in the Summer of 2006, through determination and an unwavering approach, the family run business has grown to 10 unique venues across Australia, from the pristine sands and Gold Coast’s curling right-handers, to the snowy mountains of Jindabyne, and all the way down to the tight-knit beach side community of Glenelg in South Australia. Every venue’s fit-out is designed to offer space and a quirky personality, influenced heavily by its local environment. The look and feel of each venue captures the essence and nostalgia of grass roots art, music, surf, skate and snow communities.

When we decided to expand venues, we recognised we required additional support, to synthesise what our next steps should look like. In fact, we determined our company would expand more seamlessly if we could identify someone to challenge our thinking, offer different perspectives, challenge our thinking and assumptions, and ultimately hold us accountable.

I joined Coraggio in 2016, 10 years after opening our first venue – I felt like I was spiralling out of control. I had 18 venues, 3 of which were losing large amounts of money. Coraggio gave me the insight to focus on my core business which involved closing down any loss-making centres and focus on efficiencies. Upon joining, I was personally at breaking point, so was my business. Now I have fewer venues more profitable than ever. Up until COVID, we had the best set of figures in 10 years which has given me a very strong base to get through the current tough times.

5 reasons why I love Coraggio:

• Professional development
• Business growth
• Accountability
• Support
• Actionable insights and innovative ideas