Zarraffa's Coffee is returning to Springwood with a brand-new drive-thru store, and the team behind it isn't new to the suburb at all. Franchisees Mayur Patel, Hemal and Mona Keniya, and Rupa and Nik Patel previously operated the Chatswood Road location in Springwood for 14 years before it closed, and now the same group is reopening in the community with an updated store format.
Between them, the group has spent nearly two decades with Zarraffa's, building a portfolio that has grown to six stores across Queensland since their first Zarraffa's venture. That kind of tenure inside a single franchise system, long enough to open a store, close it and come back with a new one in the same suburb, says something about how the relationship between franchisee and brand has held up over the years. Zarraffa's franchisees are known within the company as "Zees," a nod to a franchise culture the brand describes as more collaborative than transactional, built around long-term multi-store ownership rather than one-and-done single locations.
The new Springwood drive-thru will carry Zarraffa's full lineup, signature espresso blends, iced and blended drinks like the Cold Fusion range, breakfast items and light bites, along with the brand's Z Card loyalty program, which rewards customers with a point for every $11 spent and a free drink on their birthday. The drive-thru format itself has become central to Zarraffa's growth strategy in recent years, with the brand increasingly favoring smaller, non-traditional sites over larger shopping-centre locations as it expands across Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and, as of last year, South Australia.
The reopening also lands in a meaningful year for Zarraffa's itself. The Australian coffee chain marks its 30th anniversary in 2026, having grown from a single roasting operation on the Gold Coast into a network of more than 85 stores nationally, with plans to keep expanding its footprint in the years ahead.
Opening a new drive-thru typically means staffing up quickly, and Zarraffa's has said the new Springwood store is expected to create local jobs as it gets up and running. Bringing on a fresh team for a new location, even one run by experienced franchisees, still requires organizing applicants, scheduling interviews and getting new hires trained before opening day. Gorilla Dash offers a Recruitment feature designed to help franchise owners manage that hiring process, keeping candidates organized as a store moves from construction to opening.
