Back to Previous

South African burger brand RocoMamas opens on Chapel St

Nick Hall

South African burger brand, RocoMamas has launched its flagship outlet on Melbourne’s famous hipster hangout, Chapel St.

Opening in mid-June, the brand capitalised on Victoria’s thriving street-food scene, boasting a menu that features flame-grilled ribs in homemade sauces, southern fried chicken and Hanoi slaw all prepared out of a shipping container kitchen.

While the contemporary design of polished concrete flooring, edgy neon lighting and commissioned artwork courtesy of BlackMilk Architects cleverly compliments Chapel St.’s urban grunge, Victoria Mastellone, owner of RocoMamas Windsor, believes the brand could work anywhere.

“The RocoMamas brand can work anywhere from main roads to shopping centres. It can also work really well in regional cities lacking fast, convenient and tasty food,” Mastellone said.

The Chapel St store, along with its future contemporaries will be company franchised stores, however it won’t be long before potential franchisees can get in on the action.

“We are open to them being franchised straight away,” Mastellone said. “(We) are anticipating opening another five stores in the next 18 months”.

With more and more street-food inspired restaurants making their way to Australian shores, Mastellone, who has been involved in the franchise industry since 1998, believes RocoMamas’ customer service and food quality will be the defining factor for the brand.

“We are not a static brand. We are constantly evolving by listening to our customers’ needs and feedback”.

“Our product offering is all made to order and we encourage customer creativity through customisation. We don’t have any freezers and we don’t use any flavour enhancers and additives. In our eyes, the customer is king. We want to ensure they walk away with a memorable experience and a phenomenal meal,” Mastellone said.

To coincide with the opening, RocoMamas also launched its Not Normal #GetInkedMelbourne social media campaign, celebrating the diverse individuality of the brand, the city and its customers.

From June 16 to September 1, five lucky customers who snap and share a pic of their temporary RocoMamas tattoo and their iconic Smashed burger to Instagram with the hashtag #GetInkedMelbourne will go into the running to win a $1,000 voucher from a tattoo artist of their choice.

Since starting in 2013, the brand has experienced rapid expansion and the opening of RocoMamas’ flagship store on Chapel St in Melbourne’s trendy, inner-city, Windsor provides a welcomed addition to the franchise market.