Construction on the new Grill'd restaurant in the expanding dining precinct at the western entrance to Stockland Shellharbour is nearing completion.
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More than 400 people have already applied for jobs at Grill’d Shellharbour which is one of three new eateries moving into the area.
Grill’d will be one of two in a purposely constructed building that will also boast a Thai restaurant.
For franchisee Lube Markovski it is back to where it all began in business for him almost three decades ago.
But things have come along way since the former a child protection worker opened a flower shop in what was then known as Shellharbour Square in 1988 with only $2.11 in the bank.
Mr Markovski only employed a few people in the beginning and has been involved in many different franchises in Shellharbour and Wollongong since then and employed many hundreds of people in the Illawarra.
But interest in his latest venture is greater than he has ever experienced as job applications remain open for up to 60 positions being filled by the time his family’s second Grill’d restaurant opens in the region at the end of August.
It will be located near Max Brenner and The Coffee Club where the former playground used to be. A new large sea themed playground has been developed a little closer to Cold Rock.
“Grill’d Shellharbour will be about the same size as Wollongong but with a bit more outdoor seating,” Mr Markovski said.
“My first business was the Shellharbour Square Florist. It was out the front of the old K-Mart..in a little kiosk. They used to have an ice-skating rink there occasionally. And Santa and the stage was always behind us. We then had a Boost Juice here. And we eventually had a Hairhouse Warehouse here. We set a national record when we opened that. It still holds the record for the biggest opening day in Australia. Our Wollongong store had it and then Shellharbour smashed it.”
Mr Markovski set the national record for hamburger sales in one day when Grill’d Wollongong opened in October 2014. And he has already fielded enormous interest in Grill’d Shellharbour.
He said his family decided to open a second one at Stockland and continue to invest in the Illawarra because they can see so much potential in the area.
“It just makes sense,” he said.
“I think it is important for the region to have two strong areas in Wollongong and Shellharbour. When you talk about $2 billion in escape spending we need both our shopping centres to be as strong as they possibly can.”
Mr Markovski said there was plenty to be positive about in the growth area of Shellharbour.
“It is probably one of the fastest growing suburban areas in Australia and you have got the marina coming up here,” he said.
“Our plan has always been Wollongong, Shellharbour and one other location. And this building project they are doing here is a massive commitment from Stockland. They are definitely trying create an eating precinct here which I think is really exciting. All of sudden they are opening three new restaurants here which I think is fantastic. And I think the cinema being close is significant and I also think our takeaway business will be big as well. There is such a high residential population here.”
Mr Markovski said he was still six weeks away from opening but there had already been more than the 400 jobs applications. He received more than 400 in Wollongong as well but Shellharbour was smashing that number. Between the two stores his family will have more than 100 employees coming into Spring.
“We had our first group interview on Sunday. We had 70 people there. We selected 24 who have already started pre-training in Wollongong. We have another group interview on July 31. In total we are looking for 60 people. I have been staying up until 3am most nights looking at the applicants. We knew the brand was strong but we did not realise how strong it was down here. We set the record in Wollongong on the first day and we will be giving it a good crack here. And Wollongong will definitely get another chance too.”
The 150 seat Grill’d Shellharbour will have a different look to Wollongong because the restaurant chain tries to make each outlet different by localising them to the area.
Another difference is Shellharbour will have a bar with tap beer as well and a lot more outdoor seating with good heating.
“There will be about 70 seats outside,” he said.
“People like alfresco. And we will be able to accommodate all weather.”
Mr Markovski is also looking for community groups in the Shellharbour area interested in being part of the Local Matters initiative where Grill’d gives a percentage of profits back to the community.
“All they need to do is go online and just fill out the form,” he said.
Mr Markovski’s son-in-law Rob Gorgievski will be the restaurant manager in Shellharbour while his son Allen Markovski remains the restaurant manager in Wollongong.