{"id":319755,"date":"2026-03-08T23:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T23:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/319755\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T23:00:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T23:00:08","slug":"zeta-greek-kitchen-to-open-up-to-45-australian-stores-in-five-year-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/319755\/","title":{"rendered":"Zeta Greek Kitchen to open up to 45 Australian stores in five-year push"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TheThe render above gives a glimpse as to how Zeta Greek Kitchen’s soon to open stores will look in Australia.<\/p>\n

Alhardan said he was looking forward to the expansion, but acknowledged the tough conditions in New Zealand that forced his hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last couple of years have been really hard. We\u2019re seeing the confidence of people\u2019s spending drop, drop a lot, and at the same time overheads continue to go up,\u201d Alhardan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought this time last year that it would get better, and it got worse in terms of cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been thinking of expanding for a long time, and when we got approached by people from Australia, we thought maybe it is the right time for us to expand abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alhardan admitted the number of stores that it planned to open might seem \u201ccrazy\u201d but said he had done his homework on similar brands preparing to do the same.<\/p>\n

He knew of some brands with similar cuisine that had plans to open 300 stores within the next five to eight years, but said 45 was achievable while still remaining a lot of work.<\/p>\n

The first location for the chain\u2019s expansion will be at the Sydney International Airport, set to open by June.<\/p>\n

Alhardan said it wasn\u2019t easy to get into the site, but noted it was significantly easier than Auckland International Airport, referencing a 110-page application that needed to be filled in.<\/p>\n

He said the airport location would give the brand international exposure, but plans didn\u2019t stop there.<\/p>\n

The chain already has five sites in total confirmed, including a site inside the Town Hall Station in Sydney\u2019s central business district (CBD), Melbourne\u2019s CBD, and other airports.<\/p>\n

\" Zeta Greek Kitchen sells a range of Greek and Mediterranean cuisine, including Greek-style wraps, souvlaki and a selection of sharing plates.<\/p>\n

Alhardan said he had been surprised how easy it was to set up a business in Australia compared to New Zealand, suggesting it was 25-30% cheaper to do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve built 55 shops in New Zealand over about 23 years, and it\u2019s cheaper and worth the investment to set up in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps the biggest reason behind the decision, according to Alhardan, has been the mix of poor consumer sentiment alongside rising input costs.<\/p>\n

The price of red meat in New Zealand has grown substantially over the last few years, alongside increasing energy and rates bills.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been going to Australia to see the people there. You walk into eateries and you see people spending money on food more than once a day. Here they are cutting their spending and deciding to cook at home instead.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone wants to expand right? Everyone would like their business to grow, but when you hit on a cost pressure, that gives you more reasons to work harder on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alhardan said he would manage the Australian business from New Zealand and had high hopes for the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my first time trying the Australian market, but I think with the plans we\u2019ve put in place I\u2019m confident, and hopefully we\u2019ll go global after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.<\/p>\n

Stay ahead with the latest market moves, corporate updates, and economic insights by subscribing to our Business newsletter<\/a> \u2013 your essential weekly round-up of all the business news you need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The render above gives a glimpse as to how Zeta Greek Kitchen’s soon to open stores will look…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319756,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[43966,74,85,1135,682,138,19271,75726,1342,112321,13687,19196,159855,78,11113,194,7124,24552,111,139,1536,69,5493,1523,2171,15400,12718,653,61,810,1530,173007],"class_list":["post-319755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-43966","tag-after","tag-australia","tag-australian","tag-being","tag-business","tag-chain","tag-fastfood","tag-five","tag-fiveyear","tag-franchise","tag-granted","tag-greek","tag-in","tag-kitchen","tag-kiwi","tag-master","tag-mediterranean","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-next","tag-nz","tag-open","tag-over","tag-plans","tag-push","tag-rights","tag-stores","tag-to","tag-up","tag-years","tag-zeta"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}