New Bendigo cafe and retail launches point to evolving local job and talent demands

Everbean Cafe will open next week at 1 Queen Street in the former Gillies Pie Shop, beginning with takeaway before adding dine-in service. Crooked Kitchen plans to open its second location next Tuesday at the old Park Corner site next to Rosalind Park with indoor and outdoor seating plus a liquor licence. Guzman y Gomez will launch a drive-thru at 172 High St in September, while Beacon Lighting has already opened a new showroom in Kangaroo Flat on High Street beside its previous location and Frankie and Co has reopened on a new High Street site four months after its Wills Street store closed following a fire.

These additions arrive as hospitality and retail rank among the main industries for the city’s small and medium enterprises, which make up over 95 per cent of registered businesses in Greater Bendigo. The pattern of new sites opening in quick succession creates immediate requirements for staff across front-of-house, kitchen and retail roles, shifting how local workers and employers match skills to available positions.

Hospitality sites expand hiring footprint

Everbean Cafe at 1 Queen Street and Crooked Kitchen at the Park Corner site both target foot traffic near established landmarks, while the Guzman y Gomez drive-thru at 172 High St and the Beacon Lighting showroom in Kangaroo Flat extend reach along major thoroughfares. Frankie and Co’s move to a fresh High Street address continues that corridor’s role as a retail and food-service hub. Each venue requires trained staff familiar with service standards, licensing rules and daily operations, increasing the number of entry-level and supervisory roles on offer.

Small and micro-businesses in Bendigo recorded a steady 2.3 per cent uplift over the last two years, with pockets such as Strathfieldsaye and Maiden Gully recording up to 32 per cent growth in startup numbers. The concentration of new hospitality and retail sites adds to this base, drawing workers who may previously have sought positions outside the city or in larger Melbourne operations.

Talent movement follows venue growth

Employers at the new sites will compete for candidates already working in the sector or entering from training programs. The Victorian Government’s Small Business Bus, scheduled to visit Bendigo later in July 2026, will provide free advice that can include guidance on recruitment and workforce planning for operators opening or expanding. Local businesses can use the session to identify pathways for filling roles created by the recent openings without relying on external recruitment channels.

Continued additions of this type are likely to keep pressure on the local talent pool in hospitality and retail, prompting both new entrants and existing staff to weigh opportunities at the fresh locations against established workplaces.