St.J’s, a New York-style sandwich deli in the heart of Hobart, was seven years in the making for co-owners Ben Korkmaz and University of Tasmania Business alumni Simon Krambousanos.
In collaboration with Dark lab and The Hanging Gardens, Simon and Ben fearlessly launched St.J’s during the COVID-19 pandemic to create food for the masses, build community and reconnect people through family-style cooking.
“I’ve been an IT business owner for over 14 years and friends with Ben for even longer, so when the idea to bring something as unique as St.J’s to Tasmania came up over a BBQ and we had the opportunity to bring it to life, we took it,” said Simon.
While the Tasmanian hospitality industry was still adapting to the challenges of the pandemic, Simon used his business and IT experience to COVID-proof St.J’s using cloud-based management software and a dynamic online ordering platform.
“Opening St.J’s during a pandemic was a risk, but with my experience in management and cloud-based software, and Ben’s background and success in hospitality, it was a calculated one,” said Simon.
During his time at the University of Tasmania, Simon studied a Bachelor of Commerce with a double major in Marketing and International Business Management and a Masters in Information Systems and Knowledge Management.
“My family is full of entrepreneurs, and growing up in that environment, I knew that one day I’d own my own business too, so for me, studying business and IT just made sense.”
“You can’t underplay the importance of education, and university qualifications give you the confidence to try things and have a crack,” said Simon. “Plus, I had excellent teachers like Associate Professor Leonie Ellis and a great network of friends that I still draw from to this day.”
As a born and bred Tasmanian now based in Melbourne, opening St’s Deli has given Simon just another reason to return to the state that holds a special place in his heart.
“Tasmania is near and dear to me. It’s the place I grew up and made some of my lifelong friends, and I try to take every opportunity I can to come back to visit with my family.”
When he’s not opening exciting new businesses in the Hobart CBD or supporting St.J's from the cloud, Simon is Director of Design for Conduct: a Melbourne-based full-service software and design company he created with fellow University of Tasmania Alumni, Charlie Pohl.