When he started he only wanted just one caf� but reluctant entrepreneur, Dino Vettese now has a fast growing franchise with over 20 restaurants in South Australia. It is a major achievement for the third generation caf� owner. Dino Vettese and his wife, Lisa have now worked together in the food and hospitality industry for over 25 years.

Sheer demand in the suburbs led the couple to open Caffe Primo in Tea Tree Plaza in May 1998, with the stylish trendy caf� seating 350 people. Unfortunately, it was not a very good start, its owner Dino and Lisa Vettese freely admit.

In fact, it was a poor start. They were lucky to be doing 10 to 15 lunches a day, and the nights not much better � the company thought it had the menu and price structure right, but clearly, the business was still a working progress.

Meanwhile, the adjacent food court seated 750 people and was full each lunch time, yet Caffe Primo was attracting only a handful of people � clearly there was something very, very wrong.