Takapuna Beach Cafe: The cafe worker who went from front of house to owning the house

Takapuna Beach Cafe owner James Bryant is hopeful tourism will pick up during the summer season. Photo / NZ Herald

James Bryant always wanted to own his own cafe but it wasn’t until the Takapuna Beach Cafe came up for sale that he grabbed the chance to move from a front-of-house role to owning the house.

“I knew the site, I knew the team, and I was very lucky to understand and grow from Scott Brown and Jackie Grant from Hipgroup.

“To carry that on has been awesome,” Bryant said.

Bryant worked for years for the previous owners, starting as manager of Parnell venue Rosie.

He left to open central city cafe Major Sprout, which was owned by David Lee, before coming back to the Hipgroup to be operations manager at the Takapuna Beach Cafe and Richmond Road Cafe in Grey Lynn.

Describing them as the best in the game at the time, Bryant said Hipgroup was sophisticated in terms of its operations and systems.

Because of its focus on customer service and internal growth, he said the group became a springboard for many people who launched successful hospitality ventures of their own, including himself.

Bryant was drawn to buying the now 17-year-old business in 2019 because he was familiar with its operations.

It was a nervous decision to take the next step, but with financial backing from members of his family, Bryant won out over five other groups that were keen on purchasing the business.

Takapuna Beach Cafe has a sit-down restaurant and takeaway options. Photo / Michael Craig

The beachfront business has nearly 500 customers daily, whether that’s in its sit-down restaurant or through its takeaway and ice cream offerings.

With roughly 60 staff on the payroll, the business has launched several new products, including gelato that is made from scratch.

Bryant has also put his own stamp on the cafe.

“I’ve brought more production in-house than before, making sure that what we’ve done on-site we make on-site,” he said.

The cafe’s opening hours have recently been extended to 8pm with a new dinner menu and New Zealand-focused wine list.

That’s been possible thanks to the business’ newly acquired liquor licence, allowing for craft beer to be served with hot chips or some champagne with freshly shucked oysters.

Although, as Bryant said, the licence didn’t come easily.

“It was a complex process to secure our alcohol licence and ended up taking close to five years. Given our location so close to the beach, this added another layer of complexity.

“We feel that when the process becomes this convoluted it can put a lot of unnecessary pressure on small business owners. The irony was that people could legally enjoy a drink just a few metres away at the park but not with a meal at the cafe.”

Bryant said the community’s support during the process was incredible and reflected how residents back small businesses in the area.

‘Hospitality is tough’

Bryant is hopeful business will continue to pick up thanks to growing tourism in the area, but said there had been challenges in the past few years.

He said post-pandemic costs for the business have increased by double digits, and it’s meant prices for its products have had to increase too.

“As long as it’s explained why that increase has happened, it’s coupled with a service expansion.

“One of the biggest learnings from Covid was that supply was real tight, so it was making sure there was back-up supply. It’s also making sure the products we have are true to their flavour. For example, you can’t substitute butter in a certain product.”

With more than 120 suppliers to juggle, Bryant said he sees his relationship with them as a partnership, whether that was with those providing fruit or the seven different seafood suppliers from the local area.

Having worked in the industry for most of his career, Bryant said the biggest change had come with social media and the influence of online reviews.

Despite the challenges, Bryant has no plans to slow down.

While in the short term the focus will be on growing the evening service and customer base, he is also planning to host a fish-and-chip pop-up store for the second time over the coming summer.

And it doesn’t stop there.

Bryant is also the owner of Knead on Benson, an artisan bakery and cafe located in Remuera.

The sister-business is set for expansion, with Bryant sharing his hope to grow the business in the retail and wholesale space – potentially as a competitor to other brands such as Daily Bread.

“For Knead, in particular, we truly believe in our product there and we have some customers that would love to also sell our products too.”

There is also the opportunity to add an evening service to its repertoire, with Bryant keen to maximise the available space.

Across Takapuna Beach Cafe and Knead on Benson, Bryant reiterated that their success was down to the staff.

“They are huge to the identity of the business. I think that’s the biggest reward is being able to retain our staff throughout everything.

“Some of our team here have been here for 15 years, longer than me, but being able to have that experience, that knowledge is truly a massive asset for us.”

Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.