Page 22 - foodservice Magazine August 2018

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DINING
suddenly digital,” he recalls. “It was extremely challenging.
We launched the business with a model based on an existing structure: the only way you make money is through people coming into the restaurant. And then boom, Uber comes along and changes all that.”
Like many other restaurants, Biggie Smalls struggled to find a way to adapt to the financial demands imposed by the delivery services. “Say you’re going to take ten grand a week in-store, and you’re doing that,” Delia explains. “And then Uber comes in and suddenly you’re doing six grand a week in-store and three grand a week on Uber. You’re already losing a little bit of revenue, plus that three grand that you’re doing, you’re now paying a commission on. It changes your business model completely.”
Still, far from being resistant to the so-called sharing economy, Delia collaborated closely with the delivery companies to find a way to make it work. He even trialled so-called ‘dark sites’, Biggie Smalls stores without a shopfront that only serviced deliveries. But, the week before going on holidays, Delia shut them all down. “We had five Uber Eats exclusive stores all over the state. We thought that this is a way that we can absorb the commission, a way that we can make this work,” say Delia. “But the reality
Left: Biggie Smalls, Collingwood.
Below: ‘Bronson’ meal - coconut fried beef brisket with tomato jam, rendang curry mayo, cucumber and carrot slaw, served with hot chips and a Brooklyn Lager.
was that we just couldn’t, I mean there were too many hidden costs on our end, and we couldn’t find a way to marry it up. We had to close them.”
So, Delia has decided to make Biggie Smalls a big deal, he needs to think small. “I’m a boxer, not a kickboxer. And I feel like I’m in a different fight with QSRs,” he says. “I’m trying to take the same mentality, the same ethos from Maha and apply it to a quick service restaurant, and it’s just not compatible. I don’t want to be in a position where I have to compromise.”
From now on, Delia’s plans for Biggies aren’t world domination. Instead, he’s concentrating on operating a venue that, through exceptional quality, can stand the test of time. “What changed my mind was that I could maintain a standard that I’m proud of with
two stores, maybe three in the next few years. I’m hoping I can actually have an environment where my staff are happy, and I’m not doing anything that’s gonna damage the brand. I don’t know if I could sustain that and hold onto my soul if it were 16, 20 stores,” he says.
“I want, especially Smith Street, to be come an iconic store, like Danny’s Burgers. It’s been there for 50 fucking years. You go there with your Dad. I want people to come to Biggie Smalls with their kids.”