Greek food chain sets sights on ‘fresh casual’ market

Family-owned, Zeus Street Greek, is looking to take advantage of the emergence of ‘fresh casual’ dining precincts across Australia with its new menu and store expansions into new markets this year.

Speaking to Inside Retail, Costa Anastasiadis, co-founder of Zeus and formerly co-founder and director of Crust Gourmet Pizza, which was sold to Retail Food Group for $41 million, said the new menu is aimed at offering a unique take on modern Greek street food – a challenge to the perception of the beloved ‘Souvlaki’ as a greasy hang-over cure.

“We saw an opening for great quality, affordable Greek street food that challenges the perception of ‘Souvlaki’, instead as a healthy flavoursome meal and ultimately a modern harmony of traditional Greek street food and the best of the Australia produce,” he said.

“This gave us the impetus to educate our consumers on our brand of Greek street food.

With the proliferation of food options available in shopping precincts and retail spaces across Australia, Anastasiadis said it can be difficult to take market share away from traditional fast-food chains.

“There are a lot of players in the QSR space but we’re focussed on ensuring our proposition is differentiated and of a high standard,” he said.

“We have two models, suburban high street stores and CBD premium food court locations. Each model is very different to the other and there are up sides with both.”

Zeus have also partnered with UberEATS and Deliveroo across a number of its locations in Sydney and Brisbane.

“The plug and play nature of these platforms means we get the volume without having to alter our operations,” said Anastasiadis.

“They’ve opened us up to a wider market, reaching customers we might not have otherwise reached.”

Zeus is looking to expand into new markets this year, with locations slated for Perth and Canberra, and further stores across New South Wales and Queensland.

“We will continue to innovate across retail models from store design and flow through to the menu offering,” said Anastasiadis. “We also wanted to create a space where people from all walks could come and experience the Zeus philosophy and feel at home. Our vision and concept hasn’t changed but as we open new stores and as existing stores mature they evolve to stay in tune with the local community, this is why our customers feel like they are part of the Zeus family.”