AN Albury eatery is defying the economic downturn amid the coronavirus crisis to open a new store in Queensland.
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Greenstreat will open its second store in Brisbane CBD in early September.
The Brisbane store will employ 35, the same number employed in Albury.
Jackson said their successful Albury operation - which offered fresh salads, burritos, warm bowls and smoothies - allowed them to roll out the first of many stores planned in Queensland, NSW and Victoria.
He said they often had 1000 people a day through their doors.
"Even through COVID, we have been blown away with the support," Jackson said.
"We shut for a month but when we reopened, we were fully staffed and people came back to us in the same numbers.
"Even with the border closure, we're only down 5 or 10 per cent."
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Jackson said they planned to open a Wodonga outlet within six months as part of a broader expansion.
He said they wanted to open a second Brisbane store before setting up on the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Byron Bay; Wagga was on the radar in NSW.
"I think people are screaming out for healthy food options; everywhere you go everyone wants to be perceived as being as healthy as they can," he said.
"Our Greenstreat model has been able to meet that need and adapt quickly to the changing market situations."
Now Brisbane-based, Jackson said a Queensland store had long been on their radar since they expanded the McGrath Fine Foods label there almost a decade ago.
"Brisbane has always been in the pipeline," Jackson said.
"When I moved here the first time for 12 months about seven years ago, everyone was already really into the salad scene."
Located in a heritage building at 262 Adelaide Street, the Brisbane store will operate similar hours to the Albury business.
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