How Lavazza accelerates brand growth

Sycamore Group Founder Garry Rodakis speaks to BeanScene about scaling up in a challenging landscape and the brand’s new partnership with Lavazza.

Australian coffee culture has influenced cafés around the world, with Bondi-style brunches and Melbourne-born magics served everywhere from Portugal to Peru. Yet, it was the laid-back, sun-soaked, and health-focused café scene of California that inspired Garry and Lisa Rodakis’ Melbourne café – and the sister venues that followed.

In 2017, they opened Sycamore Meadows with a close friend and business partner, naming the venue after the fourth album of their favourite musician, Butch Walker. The singer, songwriter, and producer’s influence is woven into the fabric of the business, from the ‘stay gold’ neon sign (another album reference) on the wall to the menu of stacked diner-style pancakes and breakfast burritos.

“Mine and Lisa’s backgrounds are in retail, but we wanted to open a café in Melbourne. We’d loved exploring the coffee and food scene in Los Angeles (LA) and wanted to recreate that here in Australia. Our core pillars were food, coffee, and local, and to this day we are committed to providing an open space for our communities,” says Garry.

“Butch Walker has been a spiritual, guiding light to how we run the brand. His music, vibe, and style are reflected in everything we do. We’ve married this with the hospitality-focused approach American eateries are known for to create venues that offer something a little different.”

In the seven years that have passed, Garry and Lisa have added four more cafés to the Sycamore Group – with another in the pipeline to open in 2025. While the venues are all part of the family, each has its own identity to reflect its suburb and the local community. The golden thread that draws them together is Butch’s subtle influence and the menu of clean, LA-inspired dishes.

“People often visit the cafés and don’t realise they are part of the Sycamore Group until they open the menu,” says Garry.

“In California, the breakfast and lunch culture is very conscious of both health and locality, and this is reflected in our dishes and where we source our ingredients. We were also inspired by the great American diner, so we offer classics such as fluffy pancakes with smoky maple bacon.”

Coffee is the other constant across Sycamore Group’s Melbourne venues and something they’ve become known and loved for. From the opening of the first café, Garry had sourced beans from the same supplier, but in November 2024 he started a new partnership with Lavazza.

“I’m a loyalist and had been working with my previous supplier since I’d started in hospitality. However, after the pandemic, I noticed that the market was changing. I had big plans for growth and realised I needed a partner, not a supplier,” he says.

“When I started talking to Lavazza, it was clear they understood what I was trying to achieve and would be able to provide the support needed. The fact it’s a big company backed by such industry knowledge and heritage, but that it’s also local to Melbourne and the coffee is roasted in the city, was a huge selling point for me. We get the best of both worlds.”

To select the house blend for Sycamore Group, Garry and his team joined Lavazza for a series of blind tasting sessions of its new Mosaic line of coffees designed especially for Australian cafés. Created in collaboration with some of the country’s most experienced artisans, the blends were developed in Melbourne to appeal to the palates of the nation’s coffee drinkers.

“There was a lot of conversation about what we were looking for and whether we wanted to keep the coffee close to what we were already serving. We came to the decision that if we were going to change, we should change for a reason and chose a coffee that signified what we were trying to achieve for our business,” he says.

The Mosaic collection includes Tidal, Ochre, and Retreat. After much deliberation, the Sycamore team decided on the malt, chocolate, walnut, and toffee notes of Retreat.

“I know a lot of other cafés have gone for the lighter Tidal and Ochre blends, but we loved the punchiness of Retreat. Most of the coffees we serve are milk-based, but I wanted something we could also serve black,” says Garry.

“Each morning when I come into one of our venues, I’ll check how the machine is running by pulling myself a double espresso, so the blend also had to perform without milk.”

The winning coffee not only had to taste great black and paired with milk but also as a base to Sycamore Group’s selection of signature drinks. Inspired by the cafés Lisa and Garry visited in LA, the collection includes an Iced Caramel Cold Brew and Hot EVOO Latte.

“The extra-virgin olive oil latte is a riff on a drink I tried at the Alfred chain of coffee shops in California. We pour EVOO over ice with a little simple syrup, then add a double espresso and finish with oat milk. The oil adds a velvety texture that’s amazing,” he says.

“At first, I just introduced the signature serves for myself based on the drinks I’d been inspired by in America. Now, they’re starting to get more popular and there’s a bit of a buzz.”

With the new partnership with Lavazza launched and rolled out across its venues, Garry says Sycamore Group is ready to continue expanding across Melbourne. When asked about his recipe for success, he isn’t ready to reveal his 11 herbs and spices, but he does recognise that the Group has continued to grow despite the challenging hospitality environment over the past five years.

“When I started out in hospitality in 2013, the industry was pumping and there wasn’t too much to worry about, but times have changed. Back then margins were big, but now they’re so narrow there’s not a lot of wriggle room for mistakes,” he says.

“Having a good game plan has been our key to success. With competition, economic restrictions, and price pressures, you need to focus on what you’re spending, not what you’re making, and understand your businesses intricately.”

In terms of navigating industry challenges, Garry says Sycamore Group has thrived because it has stayed focused on its core business and embedded the brand in its local communities.

“It’s easy to be tempted to try new things and explore new avenues, but stay focused on what you’re trying to deliver. A lot of businesses now are honed in on doing one thing and doing it well, such as coffee and doughnuts or coffee and sandwiches,” he says.

“It’s smart as it gives business owners more control over costs and staff management.  I think part of our success has been constantly finding ways to innovate and be efficient.” 

For more information, visit lavazzamosaic.com.au