GEOFF Haywood, the creator of successful cafe chain Cino to Go, has returned to the hospitality scene with two new ventures in Perth’s trendy inner city suburbs.
Steering away from coffee, Mr Haywood has given over to his love of the Italian culture and will soon open Monza, an authentic Italian pasta and risotto bar at the old Fourteen Seven site in Oxford Street, Leederville.
He also will revamp the Totem Bar, on Beaufort Street Mount Lawley, into Luxe, a new late night lounge.
Mr Haywood was eager to move away from the coffee business and into new territory, saying a licensed premise was the next logical step forward from Cino.
And a late night lounge would satisfy a growing demand for relaxed “drinking holes” in the metropolitan area, he said.
“Opening a late night lounge is something that I have always wanted to do because there is a severe lack of them in Perth,” Mr Haywood said.
“And I believe the Beaufort Street strip is ready for a resurgence … I think it will soon become one of Perth’s prime areas for shops, bars and cafes.”
Monza will open in December and Luxe will open with a New Year’s Eve celebration.
Mr Haywood sold the four Cino to Go cafes to rival chain Dome Coffees last year, although he remains a director of the company.
Dome Coffees is continuing its WA expansion plans, recently opening a franchise at the new Burswood Emporium.
Director Patria Jafferies was confident of the café’s success and said many Burswood guests would already know the Dome Coffee brand.
“A lot of visitors to Burswood will be familiar with the Dome brand because we have had a strong presence in the Asian region since 1993,” Mrs Jafferies said.
The company was also looking at opportunities to open a second cafe at the Burswood when the complex expanded, in addition to several other cafes around the Perth metropolitan area.
“We are being very cautious about our growth at the moment because we don’t want to throw our money away … we are looking for the right partners and are in the middle of negotiating several locations,” Mrs Jafferies said.
