While on their travels across Europe and South America Giro Maurici and his wife Kelly came across a churros shop in Madrid.

They were surprised to find it had queues out the door despite it being quite late at night. 

When Maurici returned to Australia, he realised it was really lacking late-night European style venues that offer groups of people the opportunity to socialise well into the night.

“We were really trying to focus on that experience orientated customer, and the customer that was looking for the indulgent place to relax and catch up with friends,” says Maurici.  

And so chocolateria San Churro was born in 2005. 

The caf_ concept

When it comes to trade, Maurici insists San Churro and the traditional caf_ concept couldn’t be more different.  

“The typical cafe probably does a strong breakfast and lunch trade whereas we do neither of those – we do a strong morning and afternoon tea and we do well all through the night with our dessert offers.

“That really does define our strategy for how we set up our brand, and it determines the type of locations we look for as well,” he adds.

While older San Churro stores are smaller in size or located in shopping malls, the brand’s newer stores are located on bustling streets and in highly visible areas where they can stay open longer.

“If you have a look at some of our recent stores that have opened in Penrith, Erina and Wollongong you will get a much better idea of what San Churro is about.

“We are taking larger format stores in entertainment precincts where we can operate until midnight every night of the week,” he says.

A point of difference in the market

When it comes to competitors, Maurici rules out Theobroma because of the locations the brand has chosen for its sites.  

“Theobroma seem to have positioned themselves in areas where they are outside supermarkets and they are really relying on day trade and hence they have had to diversify into burgers and pastas and provide more of an all round coffee club offer.

“We have never had to venture down that route and I don’t think that we ever will because we are focused on providing an authentic, indulgent experience,” he explains.

He cites Max Brenner as more of a competitor, explaining “they are certainly doing a good job, particularly in the Sydney market.”

He does, however, believe San Churro’s franchising model gives the brand that competitive edge.

“It does give us a competitive advantage over the Max Brenner’s of the world who try to manage their stores from a central head office in Sydney, which can be very difficult.”

Macaroons and other treats at the new Erina Fair store

Franchisees

Maurici places a high level of importance on finding franchisees who know, and are passionate about, their local area.

“First and foremost we need people who understand their local market. It is about the franchise partner’s ability to connect with their community, staff and their local suppliers, so you need to be operating in your local market,” he explains.

While he is confident the products on offer at San Churro are second to none, Maurici says they must be delivered with a smile.

“We are about selling an experience and selling a place that people come into with a smile on their face and leave with an even bigger one.”

He warns taking on a San Churro franchise is not for the faint-hearted.

“We are looking for energy; people who have the right family support and structure around them, because to operate a San Churro store is a big deal.

“For the last two years we have only been opening multi-million dollar stores, and they are open seven days per week,” he says.  

The new San Churro store at Erina Fair

Training and support

New franchisees receive thorough training both before their store opens and during its first weeks of operation.

“We have a dedicated training manager who will train new franchise partners in a six week program based in Melbourne and also in a store local to them.

“Our operations team work alongside the franchise partner, training their initial complement of staff and also supporting that store for the first two weeks from open to close, so by the time we leave the store is well and truly on its way,” he explains.

Ongoing support is also facilitated via visits from the franchisee’s business development manager, and regional meetings are held on a regular basis.

“Franchisees receive regular visits from their business development manager, and they have the support of regional meetings which are attended to by all franchise partners to encourage that two-way feedback,” adds Maurici.

The future

San Churro is planning to open new stores across the country, and it works with both existing and new franchisees to do so.

“We do encourage franchise partners that are looking to expand their own business and we actively coach and work with them to help make this happen,” he says.

Maurici says he tends to seek out local franchisees in regional areas.

“At our new stores such as Erina and Wollongong we have found good local operators who understand their market and already have links to their community. To us that is really where franchising can take off.”

He does not have plans to over-saturate the market with the brand.

“Our focus has really been to plant the seeds around the country, and not put 50 stores on the doorstep of the Sydney CBD, but really grow in a sustainable fashion and cover the country appropriately.

“We are already at 32 sites in Australia and we are only looking to get to about 70 or 80 and then that will be it for San Churro in Australia,” he says.  

The new San Churro store in Wollongong

Product innovation

San Churro has recently employed a full time retail specialist whose role is to bring new products to market.

“She works with our suppliers and manufacturing side to test new products and roll them out, and we are starting to see some of that innovation flow through the network right now,” explains Maurici.

Maurici says a number of new products have proven particularly popular with customers of late.

“If you look at our new stores at Erina and Wollongong, 25 percent of what they sell is probably products that have been introduced in the last 12 months.

“We introduced ice cream into new stores really successfully over the past 12 months and we are looking to retrofit that into old stores over the coming years. Macaroons have also added quite a significant percentage to store sales overnight,” he added. 

All images: facebook.com/sanchurro