{"id":775784,"date":"2026-07-03T05:05:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T05:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/775784\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T05:05:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T05:05:19","slug":"100m-cult-burger-empire-milky-lanes-major-expansion-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/775784\/","title":{"rendered":"$100m cult burger empire Milky Lane\u2019s major expansion deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

A cult Aussie burger chain is grilling up for a massive expansion across the country after signing a major franchise deal. <\/p>\n

Milky Lane, valued at $100 million, will make its highly anticipated Melbourne debut in 2027 with a flagship Southbank venue alongside a rollout into Geelong and suburban locations.<\/p>\n

The brand, famous for its hip-hop-themed dining and viral menu items, is preparing to launch 26 new venues throughout Australia in the coming years following its Queensland rollout. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo many people ask us all the time, \u2018Why have you not done Melbourne? Like, it doesn\u2019t make any sense,\u2019\u201d Christian Avant, co-founder of Milky Lane, told News Corp Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of feel like Melbourne has the highest quality and level of food and beverage in Australia, and I wanted to make sure that we were perfect before we got there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s such high expectations of Milky Lane because of our social media and everything that we do. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was always just kind of worried that I didn\u2019t necessarily have the team to roll this out of Melbourne the way that I wanted to.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, it was just all about timing. Our fanbase there is absolutely enormous and I can\u2019t wait to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Milky Lane will make its highly anticipated Melbourne debut in 2027. Picture: Supplied<\/p>\n

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Milky Lane owners Christian Avant and Shane Fitzgerald. Picture: Supplied<\/p>\n

The upcoming Southbank flagship is projected to employ between 60 and 70 local staff, with intense initial training mapped out to handle the chain\u2019s fast-paced environment.<\/p>\n

Unlike typical grab-and-go burger joints, the cult restaurant is built around an \u201call-out night out\u201d experience, blending nostalgic 2000s hip-hop and R&B DJs with an extensive, highly Instagrammable cocktail menu.<\/p>\n

The move comes after Milky Lane signed a national master franchise deal with Royale Hospitality to drive the brand\u2019s upcoming expansion. <\/p>\n

In the last few years, the business has had a few locations closed in Parramatta, Cairns, Bendigo and Karratha. <\/p>\n

Mr Avant said the company has refined their venue portfolio to strengthen Milky Lane\u2019s model ahead of a significant expansion phase. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a next step, we signed a national master franchise agreement with Royale Hospitality, who will lead Milky Lane\u2019s expansion across Australia, overseeing site selection, development strategy, and operational execution,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe partnership will focus on securing high-quality franchisees and prime locations to support the brand\u2019s continued growth and strengthen its national presence.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The brand is famous for its viral menu items. Picture: Supplied<\/p>\n

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Milky Lane\u2019s signature dessert, Deep Fried Golden Gaytime. Picture: Supplied<\/p>\n

Milky Lane currently has venues in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Canberra, Adelaide, and Perth. <\/p>\n

Mr Avant said previous interstate venue rollouts generate between 5,000 \u2013 10,000 online bookings within the first few months of opening.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s going to be a big scene when we open our first store there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe plan for Melbourne is to open with a huge flagship, all the bells and whistles, everything that people have been waiting for.\u201d <\/p>\n

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First ever vending machine to change Aus<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A cult Aussie burger chain is grilling up for a massive expansion across the country after signing a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":775785,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-775784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=775784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/775785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=775784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=775784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=775784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}