2023 – 2024

Crown Melbourne engaged Future Food in 2023-4 to develop a F&B masterplan and strategy for the proposed redevelopment of the Melbourne Casino, Entertainment and Hotels (3).

Following the purchase of the asset by US-based Blackstone Capital, an overarching decision was made that the food, beverage and hospitality required refreshment and reprogramming aligned to modern standards, experiences and capability.

Future Food were appointed because of their ability to develop a rationale that would provide a balanced and well-considered business case that could weather extensive internal scrutiny. Our approach adopted a proven masterplanning methodology, overlaid with significant collaboration with internal Crown departments including commercial, food and beverage, data and brand strategy, leasing and development/construction.

The Future Food F&B strategy for more than 44,000m2 of leasable and internally-operated venues included all restaurants, bars, private clubs, hotel venues and gaming venues.

The Future Food scope of work included:

• Site assessment and opportunity analysis

• Gap analysis of existing offer

• Competitive landscape review

• Customer stratification and experience profiling

• Assessment of F&B market potential and sustainable revenue

• Development of a positioning hierarchy

• Development of Future Food and Beverage mix

• Operator identification for third party partnerships and leasing

• Benchmarking of financial productivity (F&B)

• Spatial planning and massing and operational considerations for the developing scheme.