Gerry plans to ensure The Streat’s ahead in Glasgow

Bucking the trend: Gerry Carey and The Streat are competing with heavyweights

From football to franchising, Gerry Carey’s career so far has been an eventful one. As Director of Retail Operations at Glasgow Rangers, a short-lived attachment as Chief Executive of Partick Thistle that remains a huge ‘what if?’ among fans, and early-stage consultancy with the Poland-Ukraine 2012 European international football championships, there’s a sense that he’s someone who likes a business challenge.
Little surprise, then, that his most recent venture is challenging some of the world’s biggest coffee shop chains on their own doorsteps as master franchise holder for The Streat.
The Streat was founded in Belfast 11 years ago by husband-and-wife team Michael and Nikki McQuillan. Since that time, carried by a wave of business optimism that followed momentous political events in Northern Ireland and capitalising on the city’s bar and cafe culture, the McQuillans expanded from three shops to a chain of 25 and kicked off a healthy franchise business.
‘I bumped into the folk from The Streat, who had a stand at an exhibition I was visiting in Birmingham,’ said Gerry. ‘They told me they were looking for someone to develop the brand in Scotland, and initially I said no. I never imagined myself going down the cafe market route.
‘They said they wanted someone to develop the business, not run the cafes. We talked, and eventually John Belardo and myself bought the licence for Scotland.’
With retail expertise and no small experience in the field thanks to work with an organisation called The Franchise Company, what was it about the The Streat and its business model that persuaded Gerry?
‘I asked myself that question and there are a number of reasons why. I did due diligence on the business, and they’d grown from three cafes to 25 in a five-year period in Northern Ireland. They’d just opened in Dublin and were planning to expand into Scotland,’ he said.
‘Despite the fact you’ve got Costa, Coffee Republic, Nero and Starbucks in Ireland as well, Belfast is no different to Glasgow, other than it’s smaller. I thought, if they’ve done that up against these big players, how have they done it?’
The Streat’s offerings also proved attractive. ‘One of the things that caught our attention was the width of the menu. Coffee is the basis of the business model, but added to that there’s a wide menu. It’s coffee, cakes, panini, there’s an Irish soda breakfast, porridge, salads for lunch, a kids’ menu.
‘Being a family man, I can go and enjoy a really nice coffee and I can also bring the kids. Or, I’m a businessman and I can meet people in a really nice environment.’
Gerry added: ‘The model is not unique, it’s not niche but it’s “let’s take what works”. There’s also the outside catering element, which gives the opportunity to increase revenue.’
For anyone who wants to take a business forward quickly, franchising is a good way of doing it, said Gerry.
‘It avoids you bringing in business angels or borrowing  heavily. If you wanted to start independently you’d need a lot of financial resources to make that happen.
‘I call it a business in a box. You get a box of tools and the franchisee can run their business with a brand and expertise behind them. I wouldn’t have opened a cafe in Scotland if I hadn’t done it through a franchise network.’