The founders of Brisbane hotshop Junior, Matthew Bailey and Steve Minon, are opening a new Japanese restaurant brand in Queensland.
Japanese dumpling and beer restaurant Harajuku Gyoza will launch on Brunswick Street in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley in mid November. Bailey and Minon were previously the managing director and creative director of Junior, and sold their remaining shares in the creative agency to STW in July.
Minon said the restaurant is a departure for the pair but is “not necessarily foreign territory”.
“Brands that deliver a strong culture along with a good product were always the most satisfying projects for us to work on during our time at Junior,” he said.
“So while we’re no longer associated with the agency that doesn't mean we're no longer working on brands. We see the Harajuku Gyoza project as an opportunity to create a culture for a brand of our own.”
Harajuku Gyoza will be targeting the busy urban inner-city customer, including the Brisbane advertising community.
"These people are looking for a simple tasty lunch or to take in a meal on their way out or on their way home,” Minon said. “It’s not the first dumpling restaurant in Brisbane, but it is the first to specialise in gyoza, as well as blending the casual simplicity of Japanese izakaya-style dining and drinking with the fun and colour of Tokyo’s Harajuku pop culture.”
Minon and Bailey, who are equal owners and directors of the business, will be using digital mediums such as Facebook and Tumblr, word of mouth marketing and PR to promote the restautant.
Minon told AdNews they are considering opening Harajuku Gyozas in other cities in the future. He said the pair are also working on other business projects outside of agency-land.
“We can't reveal the other projects yet,” Minon said.
“They're only in their infancy or not fully conceived. Of course the point is that Matthew and I are far from retiring to a bar stool in a restaurant.”
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