Moving back to Melbourne after a short stint in Sydney, Burger Edge franchise owner-to-be and then marketing executive Issam Soubjaki and scientist wife Enza wanted a change of lifestyle. Returning to their old neighbourhood of Anderson St, Yarraville, where they had lived for five years prior to their move north, they dropped in for lunch at the fast food franchise, a popular local gourmet burger store in the Yarraville village.
Issam and Enza were ready for a change, but hadn’t until the moment they ordered their burger, considered buying a burger franchise. In fact, both remembered being only the second customers in the store the first day it opened. They bought lunch for the removalists packing their belongings for Sydney.
Within minutes of tasting the burger, the conversation between them started. Issam then recalls visiting the store almost daily for the following week before requesting a meeting with the franchisor to discuss buying the business. Minutes into that meeting, the discussion turned to buying a second store and the Victorian master franchise of the growing chain. At the time, Yarraville was one of four outlets, and now accounts for one of eight in Victoria, with one in Noosa and the recently opened store on Bondi Beach, NSW.
“For us, it was an easy decision. We loved the product, and we could see it grow rapidly. It just needed someone to drive it,” said Enza.
Within six weeks of assuming ownership of the Yarraville store, their second store at Highpoint opened, along with three other franchise outlets in Moonee Ponds, QV and the Crown Casino food court.
“As Victorian master franchisees, our primary role is to look after the franchisees across Victoria, but it helps to own stores just to keep a hand in. We divide our time between working in the business, which helps us to improve ways of working on the business,” said Issam.
After building a very regular and loyal following, the Soubjakis confess their only secret to business success is using only quality ingredients and always striving to deliver the best gourmet burger dining experience – with a smile.