Stef Breschi got her first taste of professional hospitality when she was 16, joining the floor team at Jacques Reymond in 2004. She was hired to top up water, serve drinks and run food. “On my very first shift, I tipped a full glass of beer down a guest’s back, then fumbled three plates of eye fillet on the stairs,” she says. “Mostly because I was too stubborn to admit I couldn’t balance a tray or carry three plates.” Despite the noise coming out of the kitchen when it was revealed they were three steaks down, she was hooked.
She left Jacques Reymond to take up a scholarship with Goodman Group while studying a Bachelor of Property, then romance transported her to Paris after uni, and when she came back to Melbourne she spent almost a decade in property development (“a career I still love”). But something kept pulling her back to hospitality. That something was Japan.
“My first trip to Japan was profound – there’s no other word for it. I became obsessed with chirashi don, which at the time was almost impossible to find in Melbourne.” She came home determined to bring it here, and somehow convinced an old friend and a new one to chase the idea with her.
Future Future was meant to be a tiny hole in the wall serving seasonal donburi. But then Breschi and her pals found themselves standing in front of 191 Swan Street in Richmond, a site with a capacity of 150, and the rest is history. The restaurant opened in 2018, and has just spawned a konbini-inspired cafe spin-off in Cremorne, Suupaa, that has proven to be an instant hit.
Stef, what do you think it is about your venues that has gained traction in Victoria?
I think it’s a combination of intuition and timing – when brand, product, design, and experience all align. But it’s also about getting the basics right: the right offer, at the right time, in the right location, at the right price.
In property, you’d call that part market analysis. In hospitality, it’s a little more instinctive. You have to read the moment, understand your audience, and trust your gut. With Future Future, it was about offering Japanese food that felt fresh and relevant, without being precious – something Richmond was missing. With Suupaa, it’s about everyday quality and convenience – good food, done fast, designed to fit into people’s daily rhythm, and placed in a location with critical mass. Both are different, but they share the same energy: aiming to become part of people’s everyday lives.
Is there any other special sauce to what you do?
Perhaps a combination of lenses I bring to the table – my background in property, my experience in hospitality, time spent living in Paris, and a long-running obsession with culture in all its forms – art, design, fashion, food, print media. All of that shapes the way I think about business, space, and brand.
But honestly, the real drivers are focus and intuition. Focus keeps me chasing the details, pushing for better. Intuition helps me know when to hold, when to let go, and when to back something that feels a little bit risky – but ends up being just right.
And none of it works without the team, including astute business partners who understand the highs and lows of business. The right people bring the energy, care, and consistency that turn ideas into places people come back to.
Any regrets?
Plenty. But would I change them? No. Every one of them taught me something I couldn’t have learned any other way.
What about the big lessons learned?
Don’t hire the wrong person just because you need someone. If it feels wrong, it probably is.
What’s been the key to scaling up successfully for you?
Desire and inspiration. I don’t open venues for the sake of growth. It starts with an idea—something that feels exciting and right for the time, the place, and my life.
Every major decision starts with that feeling. But I never stop there. I validate it with analysis to make sure the numbers stack up. That’s how I work: gut first, then data.
Any tips on building a great team and workplace culture?
Trust, respect, and creating a safe, open environment. It has to feel safe enough for someone to call you out, even as an owner. That happened to me early on. A casual team member told me I needed to focus more when I was sharing her section. She was right.
The team needs to know your decision-making is fair – even if it doesn’t always serve their immediate interests, they can trust that it supports the bigger picture. And you have to keep communicating that bigger picture, why the work matters, and where it’s all headed.
You hear some operators and punters concerned that groups are starting to dominate hospitality in Australia. What’s your take on that?
It’s not a new phenomenon. Well-funded groups are best placed to grow when the economy tightens and interest rates climb. That’s just where we are in the cycle.
But tides turn and groups can just as easily become slow, bloated, and disconnected from what people actually want. My take is that there’s always room for the right idea, the right team, and the right energy – big or small.
How are you adapting to the challenges of our times?
By silencing the noise, keeping cash flow on track, and constantly chasing the small wins – the 1 per cent improvements that, over time, add up to something much bigger.
Do you have any advice for other operators who are hurting?
Focus on your strengths, and find the right people to help cover your blind spots. Self-awareness is critical in business, and so is accepting that sometimes, you just have to roll your sleeves up a little higher for a while.
And above all, remembering that comparison is the death of joy.
Who do you look to in Victoria for inspiration? Which venues and people set the bar for you?
Whenever I find myself questioning what I’m doing – or why I’m in hospitality (which, trust me, every operator does at some point) – I think of my late business partner, Katie McCormack. Her passion for the art of hospitality was unmatched. Watching her work the floor at Congress was something to behold. We backed each other, without personal agenda, and she still inspires me to keep pushing.
I also look to Chris Handel (Trader House) for his militant commitment to running great venues, and his willingness to get his hands dirty, even while overseeing 800-plus staff. And to his colleague Chris Young (Trader House), a Jacques Reymond alum, who remains the most intuitive and graceful presence I’ve met since my first shift back in 2004. They are all legends in my eyes.
As I’ve shifted focus toward building something more scalable, I’ve found Dom and Vanessa Wilton from Hector’s Deli and Mike Russell from Baker Bleu, to be invaluable sounding boards. Their clarity, generosity, and the way they’ve grown their businesses have shaped the way I think about growth.
Best case scenario, how do you want people to think about what you do?
That business is a form of creative expression. For me, that means a commitment to quality, culture and good business in everything I do. From product to people, from the experience to the numbers, it all matters.
Suupaa, shop 1/65 Dover St, Cremorne, suupaa.au, @suupaa___; Future Future, 191 Swan St, Richmond, futurefuture.com.au, @future.future; @stefaniebreschi