The Yiros King: how this 24 year-old built a Greek Food empire

Nick Mitrossilis of Hendra was just 24 when he opened his first business, The Yiros Shop, five years ago on James Street, Fortitude Valley. With little business experience but a desire to bring authentic, fresh Greek food to Brisbane, Nick said he’s proud of its growth despite not fully understanding what he was getting himself into when he first started.

“It was my first business and I was a bit naive and thought it was going to be easier than what it has been. I certainly learnt the hard way in the early days. I have learnt that business is not easy or a simple task. There are multiple variables on a day to day basis. So many different components have to come together to create a successful and sustainable business,” Nick said.

The Yiros Shop is now a strong brand with five stores across Brisbane and two more planned to open in 2020. One store is part of the exciting new Albion Central precinct on Brisbane’s northside, which will open early in the New Year followed by another later in the year at Stafford, also on Brisbane’s north. Deciding on the various locations, Nick said wasn’t a task he took lightly.

“There are lots of contributing factors you have to weigh up before moving to a new location. The most important thing is the location. We like to have our stores in easily accessible places for convenience.”

Five years in, a far more business savvy Nick, has learnt from his mistakes and implemented the systems, processes and technology that enable better operations and growth. So much so, The Yiros Shop will be available as a franchise for $350k per store, including the franchising fee. 

“We have systems in place so we can gather data on inventory levels, sales, rostering and marketing. Our team looks at this data weekly. Every year the sales are consistent; when we look at previous years we can see which months aren’t as busy as others. When it comes to food, we just stick to what we know. We consistently serve delicious food with great service – that’s what gets us through every year.”

And when it comes to how The Yiros Shop performs in terms of expected growth versus actual results, Nick said it depends on the different stores. “Some stores have exceeded their expected growth year on year, which has been steady. As the brand grows and with new stores opening, we are seeing consistent growth as people become familiar with our brand.

“As the business grew I would say that consistency across all stores was the biggest hurdle we had. Now we have extensive systems which help with future planning of our brand. Everything that our Yiros family do now is very well planned – which is much different to the ad hoc approach I had in the early days.

“As a result, financially The Yiros Shop has a consistent growing turnover and shows great profits.”

With 2020 looking to be another great year for Nick and The Yiros Shop brand, he said his reasons for getting into business in the first place remain present: “What I am most proud of is watching the growth of The Yiros Shop over the years. Walking into the stores and seeing all kinds of people young and old enjoying our food and service. Being Greek, feeding people is in our blood and we’re really excited to make it even easier for people to get their Yiros fix and enjoy fast, flavourism and fresh Greek food.”