John Lazarou (born 25 June 1962) is an Australian businessman and one of the owners of The Coffee Club chain of coffee shops. Lazarou is also known for his philanthropic work with non-profit organisations.[2][3][failed verification]

John Lazarou
Born (1962-06-25) 25 June 1962 (age 62)
Brisbane, Australia
SpouseMaria
ChildrenRhys, Krystiana, Velecia and Sebby[1]

In 1958, Lazarou's parents and three of his siblings migrated from Rhodes, Greece to Australia in 1958.[4] Lazarou and two more siblings were born in Australia.[2] Lazarou left school to start an apprenticeship at the age of 15.[5] Lazarou opened his own hair salon at the age of 17,[5] while still an apprentice. He found himself the boss of a senior hairdresser to whom he was apprenticed.[6] In his teenage years he also worked in the Brisbane business Gambaros.[5]

In 1989, Lazarou came on board as duty manager of The Coffee Club, then a brand new business.[6] Lazarou bought into The Coffee Club two years later and over time helped build one of Australia's largest franchise operations—As of 2022, The Coffee Club operates over 400 stores worldwide.[4]

References

edit
  1. ^ Orr, Sarah (5 September 2014). "Family key to success of Australia's largest cafe group — Coffee Club". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  2. ^ a b Spotlight interviews - Politicians and Public Figures - John Lazarou: Australian businessman and philanthropist, NSW Government, archived from the original on 11 March 2015
  3. ^ John Lazarou, Ovations, archived from the original on 7 April 2011
  4. ^ a b Chrysopoulos, Philip (29 April 2022). "John Lazarou, The Greek-Australian "King of Coffee"". GreekReporter.com. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Ogg, Matthew (5 August 2009). "Cafe Culture". Brisbane Business News. Archived from the original on 15 November 2015.
  6. ^ a b Skene, Kathleen (8 June 2015). "Think Tank: John Lazarou, Coffee Club supremo". Gold Coast Bulletin. Archived from the original on 15 November 2015.