John Lazarou is a very busy man. And he's been busy for quarter of a century.
The co-founder of Australia's largest home-grown café group, The Coffee Club — comprising a mind boggling 340 stores — celebrated 25 years in this business in 2014.
Intrigued by such a milestone, I was privileged to quiz widely travelled, philanthropic coffee king on his adventure.
But not before he featured prominently at Paniyiri last weekend, attended the The Waislitz Ball For The Homeless in Melbourne a few days before that, and was spotted at the Logie Awards just prior to that ... and that's just May.
March and April saw him arm with Ricky Martin as well as raising funds and awareness for the The Lady Cilento Children's Hospital in his home town of Brisbane. You get the idea...
John recounts he was friends with two Emmanuels: Kokoris and Drivas in 1989. "I was working in hairdressing. Both the Emmanuels came up with the idea of The Coffee Club to fill a gap in the market for a late night coffee destination and they asked me to join and then to help manage the first store at Eagle Street Pier."
Lazarou also managed the next six stores that the company opened, before joining the partnership as a co-director. The original Coffee Club didn't look anything like the empire today. "No, it was very Art Deco back then!"
Pressed for three areas of excellence, John says "we have always been very committed to supporting the communities that have helped make The Coffee Club the success it is today. Also, [the business] is constantly evolving – while we have always stayed true to our roots, [The Coffee Club] has excelled at constantly evolving over the years to continue to offer a welcoming place for people to meet, both in Australia and internationally."
And third, "our commitment to ‘Good Food, Great Service, Excellent Coffee’ has always been at the heart of everything we’ve done since our very first day."
I asked him about 'dark days' as they seem to often be the ones that define ensuing success. Were there any that he'd care to share? "In 1997, we opened 27 stores with limited resources and financial support. We succeeded but it was a very challenging time!"
Lazarou has a social media page as a public figure. He regularly visits different countries and towns, for pleasure and business. It's a frenetic pace and I assumed he didn't need to do this work anymore (and certainly this has been the case for a long time), so I asked him all this was for the love of it. "Yes, absolutely. One of the best parts of my job is getting out to new store openings, attending community events and showcasing our great brand to new customers. I definitely do it because I love it."
He's privileged to be able to contribute vastly to society on a philanthropic level. Is this now more rewarding than business success? "Without the success of The Coffee Club, we wouldn’t be able to contribute to society as much as we do. For me, the philanthropic side of my work is something I’m very passionate about and find it all very rewarding every day."
John's is very hands-on. Don't be surprised to catch him at your local Coffee Club — or now that there are 340 of them — a not so local one.
