Sydney’s Burger Hit?: A look at Hawthorne’s Veggie Burgers By Samuel Li, Published in the Australian National Newspaper (Business Section) on 19th July 2017 Hawthorne’s Veggie Burgers (HVB) is a small Australian fast-food restaurant chain owned and operated by brothers David and Garry Hawthorne. The first HVB opened in Newtown, New South Wales in 1996. David and Garry were both vegetarians who were frustrated by the limited options for fast and cheap vegetarian food. HVB launched to a very positive reception with customers coming from all over Sydney to try the burgers that the Sydney Afternoon Paper called “The best Burger’s in town!” The success of the business continued and a year later, the brothers opened a second location in Bondi. Today the brothers run …show more content…
HVB currently employs 10 full time staff and 12 part-time staff who all work across the two HVB locations. All food items served at HVB meet the standards for an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet which includes the likes of dairy, honey, and eggs but no meat, poultry, or fish. HVB also has limited menu options for a vegan diet. HVB is well known for its slogan “All veggies, all natural, and all delicious!” In 2016, after 20 years of success, David and Garry decided it was time to undertake some research and find out ways of growing their business without franchising or opening another store. The in-store customer survey by “Thompson and Thompson Research” found that there were two key reasons why customers liked HVB: (1) customers liked that it is locally owned and operated and (2) customers perceived the food to be healthier and more natural than other fast food restaurants. In addition, the research found that only 50% of HVB’s customers identify as some form of Vegetarian or Vegan. All customers agreed however that it was their preferred fast food