THEY KNOW BUSINESSES

THEY KNOW BUSINESSES

When Ahmet Ali and his wife, Vesna Petkovska-Ali moved into an apartment in Yarra’s Edge three years ago they never envisaged setting up a business in Docklands.

But after running their successful business brokerage firm, AA Real Estate and Business Brokers, in Collins St for one year the pair decided to expand and move their business a little closer to home.

“We adore Docklands and we wanted to move to larger a premises which was easy for clients to get to and had better facilities like car parking,” Ahmet said.

As well as recently moving their business to Docklands, Ahmet said they had also just recruited four new staff.

“They are all intelligent, young professionals and between us all we probably speak about 10 languages,” Ahmet said.

Ahmet, who moved to Australia from Cyprus when he was five years old, has had an interesting career path which has changed three times.

“I started my career as an Australian diplomat serving in (the former) Yugoslavia (Belgrade), Warsaw (Poland) and Toronto (Canada) before retiring from the public service in 1996 to own and operate retail businesses and after about nine years I was recruited by a large brokerage firm,” he said.

Since beginning his brokerage career in 2005, Ahmet has won “Salesman of the Year” for 2007/08 and 2008/09 and was honoured as finalist in the “REIV Business Broker of the Year” in 2007/08 and 2008/09.

His stunning wife Vesna, who hails from Macedonia, is equally as talented having owned and operated her own retail and distribution business in Melbourne and more recently worked in the public service in a senior customer service role.

The gorgeous couple with an infectious passion for work are excited about living and working in Docklands.

“We love our job very much and being in the same building as where we live gives us the opportunity and convenience to work with and around our clients,” Ahmet said.

The family-oriented couple, who have five sons and one grand-daughter, love being in Docklands and can’t see themselves anywhere else.

“We are happy, vibrant, local residents and we are excited about Docklands and seeing it grow and we can’t see ourselves ever living anywhere else,” Ahmet said.

AA Real Estate and Business Brokers specialise in the sale of all businesses and franchises. They are the preferred business brokers in Victoria for many major brands including The Coffee Club, La Porchetta, Gloria Jeans, Oporto, SumoSalad and others.

The company can be reached on 9645 2988 or [email protected]

THE COFFEE CLUB OPENS AT MYER

The newest addition to Australia’s largest home-grown café group, The Coffee Club last opened its doors in foyer of the Myer building in Collins St, Docklands.

It offers local office workers, shoppers and residents the Coffee Club’s freshly-brewed, hot espresso coffee as well as a delicious range of open grills, salads, gourmet wraps, sandwiches and light meals, prepared fresh as they are ordered.

Franchise owners Mark Saggin and Jason Muller have a combined 25-years experience in the hospitality industry and saw the potential of adding a second Coffee Club to their growing franchise portfolio.

“Jason and I have had The Coffee Club Doncaster for two and a half years and have been ecstatic with the demand from our loyal customers. When the opportunity to open in Docklands came up, we jumped at the chance to offer the same good food, great service and excellent coffee in one ofMelbourne’s most exciting up-and-coming areas,” Mr Saggin said.

“In Docklands, The Coffee Club is one of the only places where people can sit down to enjoy a bite to eat outside the office, without having to trek into the city,” Mr Saggin said.

The Coffee Club Director John Lazarou said he was looking forward to seeing the Collins St cafe flourish with the rest of the area.

“We know Melburnians have discerning tastes when it comes to excellent coffee so we couldn’t be happier to see that they’re embracing The Coffee Club,” Mr Lazarou said.

The Coffee Club now has 252 cafes in Australia, New Zealand and Thailand with new locations set to open in Melbourne’s Chelsea, Berwick, Greensborough and Waverley Gardens before the end of 2010.

The Coffee Club Collins St will be open from 7am until late seven days a week and is located at 800 Collins Street. Visit http://www.wherewillimeetyou.com to find out more about The Coffee Club.

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