The drive and ambition that made Wollongong’s Jonathon Crowe a successful ironman is now bearing fruit for him in the world of business.
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After he finished competing Crowe spent some time in property and lived in Queensland and Dubai for a while before returning to Wollongong to open his first restaurant.
The sportsman who once starred alongside Pamela Anderson playing himself on the American TV series Baywatch is so successful as a Zambrero franchisee he will soon own 11 stores. He, his wife Nathalie Brown-Crowe and another business partner presently own six and have five more in the pipeline.
“Including one in Albion Park which will open towards the end of the year,” he said.
“It is on the highway where a new 7-Eleven is going in. It is in front of the timber mill. There is a 7-Eleven, an Oporto, a Subway and us. We are also in final negotations on another site for the middle of next year which is a drive-thru. The one at Albion Park we are opening ourselves with another young guy with a young family who wanted to get into the business. They will manage the store and we will train them up with a view of them one day taking over the store.”
Crowe said Zambrero was growing rapidly in Australia. So much so that over the last four years it has donated 9.5 million meals to people who might not otherwise get a meal. In Australia it has partnered with Food Bank but Zambrero distributes meals around the world.
There are 112 Zambrero outlets in Australia and Crowe presently owns stores in Wollongong, Coogee, Darlinghurst, Lidcombe, Kotara and Hamilton.
“We have got one under construction at the moment in Campbelltown,” he said.
Each year Zambrero staff come together in several locations around Australia and make meals to donate to people in need. Last October they made 378,000 meals on World Food Day. In 2016 Crowe’s Coogee store is expected to be one of the sites.
He thinks the Wollongong store will keep growing with 1000 more residents moving into the Corrimal Street area where so many new apartments are being built. It is one of the reasons he recently did a refit in Crown Street.
“We have just renewed the lease here for another seven years in anticipation of the business moving forward,” he said.
“I am really enjoying myself. Especially the Plate for Plate initiative where one meal is donated for every Burrito and bowl. Knowing we are doing good while doing this is really fulfilling. A few of our team went to the Philippines the other weekend. They spent four days in an area where a lot of our donated food goes. They visited orphanages and schools where children were sleeping on the floor and don’t have toilets. It was pretty confronting..but gave them a different outlook and appreciation for what is happening over there. And how much of a contribution we are making towards those children’s lives.”
Crowe said running a business was different to being an ironman where he got paid to go to the beach.
Business has more challenges because there is so many different variables.
“As an ironman you are an individual and you are mostly working on your own. What I like about this is I like being able to create something. And in my training role with the company I am helping people make lifestyle choices.”
Crowe said he had been really lucky to have great mentors in his life and now in his role as a development agent in NSW he was mentoring others by helping them get into business and training them. “My role is to source sites, source franchisees, train them up and put them through the franchise system”.
Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
