He grew up in a Collingwood housing commission, built a franchise to 30 stores, then lost almost all of it to COVID and came within a whisker of leaving Australia.

In Episode 2 of On Air with Aaron Byerlee, Aaron sits down with Anthony Crowther, founder of New York Minute at Noosa Junction. Anthony started with an eight-seat burger shop in Melbourne, slept on a single mattress out the back, and worked 100-hour weeks. He then grew the brand into 17 greenfield sites and 13 dark kitchens, before post-COVID reality cut it back to fewer than seven.

Anthony tells it all straight: the grit, the mentors he wishes he’d found sooner, and his blunt views on business, fear and where Australia is heading.

Whether you’re starting out, scaling up or starting again, here’s what you’ll walk away with:

• Back yourself with data, not hope: How Anthony picked Noosa by studying population, age demographics and tourist numbers, and why a gap in late-night dining became his opening
• Make it personal: Why remembering a customer’s name and their last order builds loyalty that no marketing budget can buy
• Find a mentor sooner: The biggest regret from his early years, and why your mentors should be people who have actually built something
• Know the real cost: His honest advice to a 25-year-old with the fire in the belly but no money: there is no balance in the first five years, but the payoff can fast-forward your life by 15
• Turn fear into execution: How Anthony stops thinking about failure and focuses on process, systems and owning every decision
• Adapt or get left behind: How he survived the rise of delivery apps by shrinking big venues into food-court-style spaces, and what he’d do differently in the next shake-up

Visit New York Minute at 5 Sunshine Beach Road, Noosa Junction

Connect with Aaron Byerlee: https://www.onairwithaaronbyerlee.com/

If Anthony’s story lit something in you, hit subscribe to On Air with Aaron Byerlee so you don’t miss Episode 3. Send this one to the mate who’s stuck in a job they hate, or the owner who’s been knocked down and is wondering whether to get back up. Leave a rating and review while you’re at it, because it’s the fastest way to put this show in front of more people ready to build a life on their own terms.