Co-owner of Gang Gang Sam Conway. Photo: supplied.
Have there ever been three brothers more suited to running a business together than the Conway brothers, Sam, Max and Riley?
Opening Gang Gang Cafe and Bar in 2020, they proved that a lifetime of friendship outweighed any challenges that the hospitality industry and a global pandemic could throw at them. Their cafe, their first-ever venture into hospitality, quickly became a beloved community hub and live music venue embedded in the Downer community.
Now, five years on, they’re hesitant to say they’re killing it – because who is currently killing it in hospitality? – but Sam does feel that they are one of the fortunate ones “with the community and support we have here”.
The boys, as they’re often referred to by the extended Conway family, which I happened to have married into, don’t recognise that their relationship is anything unusual, but they share a relaxed closeness that sees them sharing many of life’s milestones. The cafe is just another stepping stone on life’s journey that they share side by side.
Co-owners of Gang Gang Cafe and Bar in Downer, brothers Sam, Riley and Max Conway. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
Aside from growing up seemingly in each other’s pockets, before opening the cafe, they collectively ran a school for rock bands (you really can’t make this stuff up).
Between running the rock school, a victim of the pandemic, and having played in a band together since they were children, Sam says the music has really been the basis for their business success, despite being pretty green when they first opened Gang Gang.
“A band in so many ways is like a small business, and you spend so much time together touring and recording. We all had natural roles with the band, and it’s the same here; we’ve fallen into our natural roles.”
With a hospitality crisis in full swing, the boys haven’t sat by and just hoped for the best; they’ve assessed what will pay the bills and invested in specific areas of the business to ensure its viability.
The biggest investment came in the form of an extension to the cafe, which saw them taking on the adjacent shopfront and undertaking a major renovation to merge the two shops into one new space.
“When we were small and it was just the three of us, we were unlikely to each be able to make a proper wage. Doing the renovation was super risky, but at that time, it was something we were comfortable with,” Sam explains.
“Once the reno started, we’ve all watched Grand Designs and every project goes over budget, but we thought for us it would be fine.” Sam laughs and shares that the project did not stay within budget or meet the planned time frame.
While already a popular live music venue, the expansion enabled a shake-up in their event schedule. Photo: Gang Gang.
The new space enabled the addition of a dinner service to the existing breakfast and lunch menus. Branching into serving dinners four days a week, Sam explains, has been a big learning curve, but he’s pleased to say that so far, so good.
The other big change to the business and investment has been around their live gigs. The boys have refined the acts they book to a slightly less frequent schedule, with a new focus on touring performers and local acts that may not play Canberra as frequently.
“When you’re sweeping the floor at midnight after a show that didn’t go that well and we might have lost money, it doesn’t feel good. We had to find a way to make it work for us, and now we focus on the whole experience of the show,” shares Sam.
“We only put it on if we’re keen to put it on, and that helps us to be happy. We burnt out a little bit when we were hosting more frequent gigs.”
This less frequent schedule Sam refers to still sees them hosting weekly and often twice-weekly gigs through the warmer months.
Gang Gang is a vibrant community hub. Photo: Gang Gang.
With so many moving parts to the business, Sam says the trio rely on each other to help keep their crazy ideas in check, and that they work on the unspoken principle that if two brothers agree, the third will normally go along with a plan.
Sam laughs as he recounts the story of one such crazy plan they enacted earlier this year, when they invested in having Shabaka perform at Gang Gang.
“Our most expensive show was Shabaka, it was billed as a solo jazz flute gig,” Sam pauses for effect here, the amusing nature of the niche genre a clear risk to book considering the high price.
Sam explains the risk paid off, with the sold-out gig being a real coup for Gang Gang.
“It was huge; he’s a very cool muso. He’s collaborated with André 3000 and other notable artists. It was an incredible show. He was playing a Mayan flute and circular breathing; it was wild.”
With Sam, Max, and Riley having found their groove with the business, they’re currently focused on refining and tweaking things, with no major changes in the pipeline —at least none they would divulge to me, given my propensity to spill the beans to the public.
Their main goal is to keep enjoying themselves while they learn and grow; it’s a goal that’s very them, as they forge their way through the industry with their own markers for success. They’re markers that so far have set them on a sure footing in what can be a volatile business environment.
Gang Gang Cafe and Bar is located at shop 4/2 Frencham Place, Downer, and is open seven days a week from 7:30 am.
