A dozen lucky Australian eateries are celebrating today after receiving a financial boost from American Express. The company’s Backing International Small Restaurants program has awarded $21,500 grants to each of these venues.
The initiative, aimed at supporting small dining venues, expanded this year to include Melbourne and Sydney, attracting a record number of applicants from both cities. Since its launch, the program has distributed nearly $520,000 to small restaurants across Australia, with the aim of bolstering their operations and contributions to local communities. Robert Tedesco, Vice President of Global Merchant Network Services for American Express Australia and New Zealand, praised the expansion and the program’s impact: “The program has delivered significant financial aid, allowing restaurants to continue making meaningful contributions to customers and their communities.”
Run in partnership with the International Downtown Association (IDA) Foundation and supported by Mainstreet Australia, the program offered grants of AUD $21,500 to help restaurant owners cover operational expenses or improve their businesses. David Downey, Executive Director of the IDA Foundation, expressed his enthusiasm: “This year, we expanded our reach to nine cities globally…empowering these extraordinary restaurants to thrive.”
The winners included venues such as Rising Sun Workshop in Newtown, Sydney, a unique space where motorcyclists can work on their bikes while enjoying ramen and coffee, and Bojak Brewing in Dandenong, Melbourne, which will use its grant to upgrade its outdoor facilities and brewing equipment. Globally, the program has doubled its funding this year to US $1 million, reaching 70 small restaurants across nine cities, including Melbourne, Montreal, and Osaka. Since its inception in 2022, it has supported more than 135 independent restaurants.
Winners List: Melbourne: Bojak Brewing, Wilbury & Sons, PBK Noodles, Lazeeza Restaurant, Baba Hawker, Baby Elephant Café, The Backyard, 1001 Nights
Sydney: Rising Sun Workshop, Rebels N Misfits, Little Lagos Bistro & Bar, Don Adan Coffee, I Should be Souvlaki
Owners of one of the winning businesses, Rising Sun Workshop in Sydney, said the grant came at the perfect time for their business, which provides a unique communal space in Sydney’s vibrant Newtown where motorcyclists can work on their bikes while enjoying a coffee or meal, including some of the most sought-after ramen in the city.
“Rising Sun Workshop is about breaking down the barriers of urban living, where people often don’t know their neighbours. We created this space to give city people a place to work on their bikes and it has grown into something much bigger—a community where everyone feels welcome. It’s more than a workshop or a restaurant—it’s a space where strangers can connect, share stories and help each other out. In a city where people can feel disconnected, we wanted to create a place where asking for help or offering a hand was second nature,” said Rising Sun Workshop co-founder Heleana Genaus.
“The Backing International Small Restaurants grant from Amex is helping us to keep improving our operations by making some much-needed changes to the kitchen and storage areas, which we wouldn’t have been able to make without it.”
Another winner, Sue and Dale Messina from Bojak Brewing, a 75-seater brewery in Dandenong that was forced to close for much of two years following the Covid pandemic, is using their grant to upgrade equipment and facilities in their business.
“This American Express grant is great because it’s helping us afford improvements that we couldn’t otherwise. We’re excited to be able to install permanent gas heaters in the outdoor beer garden, making it a perfect year-round spot for families and beer lovers alike. The grant is also enabling us to invest in new kitchen flooring and better equipment like a new density meter to provide more precise measurements and streamline the brewing process, as well as a carton box-taper to improve efficiency when packaging beer.”
Learn more about the 2024 Backing International Small Restaurants grantees here.
