Signature Hospitality Group takes WA’s Varsity beer and burger bar to east coast with first site in Ringwood

A Perth-raised sports, beer and burger chain is about to crash the crowded east coast market.

Varsity is taking its first steps outside WA with the opening of a site in Ringwood in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

Its first American college-style bar was launched near the University of Western Australia in 2013 and the brand was snapped up by Signature Hospitality Group — the national entertainment and dining outfit behind TGI Fridays in Australia — in 2022.

It now has large-format bars across Perth in Fremantle, Joondalup, Morley, Innaloo, Nedlands, Cannington, Waterford, Northbridge and Westfield Whitfords.

The $9 million Ringwood bar will open in November and support Signature’s other east coast-born brand, The Sporting Globe, which also has four sites in WA.

Signature chief executive and co-founder James Sinclair said the group had been focused on growing the Varsity brand without losing the customer appeal that has made it a success.

“What we’ve tried to do since acquiring the business is preserve everything that made it cool — the burgers, sport, nostalgia, irreverence and personality — while completely reimagining what the venue itself can be,” Mr Sinclair said.

“We’re now building large-format entertainment destinations with bowling, arcades and billiards, but the soul of Varsity hasn’t changed. That’s the brand we’re excited to introduce to Melbourne.”

The expansion comes as Perth families embraces larger concept entertainment formats that marry live sports coverage with on-site entertainment such as arcades and bowling alleys — where the whole family can engage in activities together, with food and drinks available.

Signature said the newer Varsity venues had doubled revenue and tripling profit compared with the original model after the group injected more than $40m into major refurbishments, entertainment infrastructure and technology.

With a similar theme to Varsity, NightOwl Entertainment brought the US-born brand Dave & Buster’s to Clarkson in Perth’s northern suburbs in June and has ambitious plans to launch another 20, including in Cockburn, Rockingham and in Perth’s east.

Founder Dave Heaton is also plotting a massive assault on the east coast, saying once five are opened in WA he will look to expand across the Nullarbor.

Mr Sinclair said Ringwood was set to welcome 500,000 patrons a year and was selected because of its growing catchment and its role as a major retail, commercial and entertainment centre for Melbourne’s outer east.

It is the first of four planned for Melbourne, with Sydney and Brisbane also among the markets being assessed.

“Our ambition is for Varsity Ringwood to become more than somewhere to eat or drink,” Mr Sinclair said.

“We want it to be a genuine entertainment destination and community meeting place that brings additional visitation, employment and economic activity to the Ringwood precinct.”