Last Slice targets existing WA venues for franchise growth

Western Australian hospitality brand Last Slice is seeking existing venue operators to join its franchise network as it prepares to open a fourth location. The Bunbury-founded business combines food and beverages with sports broadcasts, games and family activities, and plans to continue opening company-owned venues alongside its franchise expansion.

Existing operators at the centre of the offer

Last Slice’s approach gives existing hospitality business owners a route into franchising while retaining responsibility for the daily running of their venues. Rather than focusing solely on operators starting from scratch, the offer is designed to make use of premises, infrastructure and leases already in place.

According to a Franchise Business report published on 5 November, participating operators would draw on the brand’s systems, processes, centralised support and supply chain. The franchisor team would provide back-end processes and menus, while franchisees would remain hands-on in their businesses.

That division of responsibilities is central to the proposition. Joining the network would not mean stepping away from venue management: the local operator would continue to oversee day-to-day operations, supported by the wider group.

For Australia’s franchise community, the approach illustrates an expansion route built around established hospitality businesses. The opportunity is not simply to occupy a new site, but to bring an existing operation into a branded network with shared operating support.

A format built around more than food

Last Slice positions its venues around a combination of hospitality and entertainment. Alongside food and beverages, the format includes broadcast sport, digital and standard darts, pool tables and children’s play areas.

Other elements include a self-service ice-cream bar, weekly interactive gameshows, occasional special events and themed nights. Together, these features describe a venue concept aimed at sports viewers, social groups and families, rather than a food-only operation.

For an existing operator considering the franchise, that breadth matters. Assessing the opportunity would involve looking beyond the menu to how the entertainment offer could work within the premises and alongside its current customer base.

The ability to use existing infrastructure is part of Last Slice’s proposition, but prospective franchisees would still need to establish what their individual venue requires. Space for games, family facilities and sports viewing should form part of that assessment; the published description does not establish that every existing hospitality site would suit the format.

Franchise growth alongside company-owned venues

Last Slice began in Bunbury and expanded into metropolitan Perth with its Midland opening in April 2025. The November report describes the chain as preparing to open its fourth venue, without giving an opening date or identifying that location.

Franchising is one part of its expansion plans. The business also intends to continue opening company-owned venues at a rate of approximately one every 12 to 18 months.

That means its stated growth approach includes both hands-on franchise operators and venues owned by the company. The planned company-owned opening rate should not be read as a timetable for franchise launches or as a confirmed total network growth target.

The report also says the locally owned group’s owners remain closely involved in running the business, with a new leadership team supporting operations as the group grows. For prospective franchisees, understanding how that team’s responsibilities translate into practical support would be an important part of discussions with the brand.

What venue owners should examine

The immediate relevance for established hospitality operators is the possibility of joining a network without abandoning their role as active business owners. Last Slice is offering shared systems, menus and supply arrangements, while leaving daily venue management with the franchisee.

Operators should distinguish those stated features from the details that need to be settled for an individual business. These include the suitability of the existing lease, any changes required to the premises, the cost of adopting the format and the precise scope of ongoing support.

Practical takeaway: Existing venue owners considering Last Slice should assess the full hospitality-and-entertainment format, not just the food offer, and obtain site-specific financial, legal and operational advice before committing.