Kiama restauranteurs Jack Alexander and Taylor Hudson have taken their award-winning formula to Bowral.

The Hungry Monkey Bowral has just opened, right in the middle of town.

The two friends opened the Hungry Monkey in Kiama in 2015, aged just 23. They started out without much capital, kept reinvesting in their business, responding to customer feedback and streamlining their operation.

The brand worked and soon it was impossible to get a table in Collins Street.

The Collins St flagship

They always had a plan to open a second restaurant, and the two men found an ideal site in the former Sourdough Bakery in Prince Alfred Street, Berry. However, this expansion came with unexpected challenges.

“We opened the Berry Hungry Monkey a month before the 2019 bushfires, which then rolled straight into COVID,” says Jack.

The swift pivot by both restaurants to offer take away and home deliveries is testament to Jack and Taylor’s entrepreneurial capabilities.

Both restaurants have actually grown during the past 12 months of intermittent lockdowns.

“2020 was a hectic time for everyone, but we just knuckled down,” says Jack, suggesting that much of the Berry success was due to its manager Dylan Ayuso.

Knuckling down is what this team does expertly.

“Managing two restaurants in Kiama and Berry was a challenge, but we have systematized our offering and this has proved successful.

“There are always things to improve on, but our brand has received great recognition by a lot of people, our mix of super healthy salads and burgers are really popular, so we have been able to grow our brand.”

Earlier this year a former restaurant site with outdoor seating in the popular High Street arcade off Bong Bong St in Bowral became available, so the team snapped it up.

“We have always looked at getting up to the Southern Highlands,” Jack says.

The new cafe is open for business

They are also looking at expanding into Milton and Thirroul.

The business now employs around 100 staff and Jack acknowledges that it is hard to attract experienced hospitality workers.

“I think it’s been a problem for this industry for the whole time I’ve been in it. I think it’s an industry problem rather than a COVID problem,” he says.

“Ten years ago, the industry was a lot different. Chefs had to work unforgiving hours and not get paid for it and this damaged the industry and put us in the position we are in today where it is a struggle to find chefs.

“But there are definitely staff out there – younger staff – that want to work in hospitality.

“You have to have a recruitment plan that invites them to come to work and lets them enjoy their work.”

Jack and Taylor know how to treat their staff well, “We have training plans for all our staff, from induction to ongoing. We have staff appraisals every three months.

“There is quite a lot we put into the back end to make sure our team is up to scratch and if they want to pick up more skills, then we give them that opportunity.

“Happy employees make happy customers,” Jack believes.