“Our lease was coming to an end and we were looking for a new site,” he says. “We didn’t want to move anywhere too far from where we were, because of our locals and regulars and stuff. “I just made a phone call to Tiama and said, ‘Hey, would you be keen?’ and they did not have plans at the time to open during the day, so it was, ‘Yep, let’s make it happen’.”
involved in grassroots sponsorships and community initiatives. “We always try and do what we can to be able to get kids to go out and play and maybe then enjoy a sanger afterwards,” Varun says. The café’s links to cricket are particularly strong, with Tasmanian and Australian fast bowler Nathan Ellis serving as a brand ambassador. “We are quite invested in cricket at the moment, and grassroots touch footy, and we’re looking into sponsoring a hockey team as well,” Varun says.
The idea itself was not entirely new to him.
Varun had seen similar concepts interstate and believed the model could become increasingly common as operators search for ways to reduce overheads without compromising quality or customer experience. “I do travel a bit, and whenever I travel, I go look for a good sandwhich. I just thought in Hobart, that was probably missing at the time.” - Varun Khetarpal “I think I read an article about it probably a few months ago, again, on the mainland, a few businesses are doing it,” he says. “And it’s something that when the costs are rising, rents are rising, potentially that’s one way to be able to reduce your overheads.” Importantly, he sees collaboration — rather than competition — as a key part of hospitality’s future. “The venue is there. If you can make use of it for a whole day, do it,” he says. “If you can’t do it yourself, then maybe there’s someone else who can. “And as long as both parties are ready to adjust a little bit and work together, it can be great.” That willingness to collaborate also extends into the community. Sport is a major passion point for the Happy Larry team, with the business heavily
“I’m very passionate about cricket.”
For all the awards, expansion plans and growing popularity, there remains something refreshingly uncomplicated about Happy Larry. At its core, it is still built around the same simple idea that sparked the business in the first place: creating food people genuinely want to come back for. And in an industry constantly navigating rising costs, changing customer habits and economic uncertainty, perhaps there is something reassuring in that. Good coffee. Good people. Good sandwiches. Sometimes hospitality success really can be stacked between two slices of bread.
PIC: SAMMY JONES PHOTOGRAPHY
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Tasmanian Hospitality Review June/July Edition
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