Firing the wood-burning oven is a daily ritual at a busy Italian restaurant – Boss Pizzeria – in Melbourne’s east.
Despite business challenges, married owners Sansita Bootsrakoothanachok and Daniel Barrese have also boosted their finances and recently purchased their first home.
“Very, very proud, we have now achieved a big goal in life,” 37-year-old Bootsrakoothanachok told SBS News.
However, their success follows a long struggle to improve their finances and reduce rising costs.
“We had a lot of customers and people loved our food, but the revenue didn’t cover the costs,” Bootsrakoothanachok said.
“After paying wages, rent and operating expenses, we ran out of money, so we didn’t pay ourselves,” she said.
“Everything has been debited from our account. So it’s not very good for the company.”
To boost profits, the couple had to make significant cuts.
“It was very stressful at first, I have to be honest, and we had to make a lot of sacrifices,” she said.
Working harder and not receiving a salary is an all too familiar story for small businesses, according to credit reporting agency CreditorWatch.
Rising prices and falling revenues have forced many restaurant and cafe owners in Australia to fold over the past year.
“About one in ten food service companies are closing their doors,” says CEO Patrick Coghlan.
“It could be voluntary administration, it could be insolvency, it could just be the closure of the company.
“But this is a record number of failures and double the national average,” he said, referring to data in the latest Business Risk Index from January.
Bootsrakoothanachok and Barrese survived by analyzing costs and making adjustments, such as reducing food waste and waking up early to buy fresh vegetables at the market.
Reducing floor staff has also helped increase cash flow.
“In the beginning, Daniel was busy in the kitchen, so he had to put a lot of staff on the floor,” Bootsrakoothanachok said.
“But I said, ‘I can only manage the floor when we’re not busy and even if we have a full house, I can handle more tables’.”
Dealing with more roles was an exhausting step that took its toll on the couple, who married seven years ago.
“Sometimes we almost gave up, and my husband even asked me if it was okay to continue,” Bootsrakoothanachok said.
Bootsrakoothanachok, a migrant from Thailand, studied tourism. Barrese trained as a chef in Italy before migrating to Australia.
“I told him I’m a fighter because I’m from Thailand,” Bootsrakothanachok said.
“And after a year we met our accountant who asked what we were doing with the place because suddenly we started making more profit,” she said.
However, Coghlan said that in today’s economy, many bar and restaurant owners are losing the battle against financial stress.
“The hospitality industry is one of the riskier sectors in Australia and pressure has been mounting for months,” he said.
It’s a sentiment echoed by Wes Lambert, CEO of the Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association.
“The cumulative effect of wage and interest rate increases plus other cost increases means that conditions in 2026 will be as bad as ever before,” he said.
“Operators across the country are telling us there is no money in the hospitality industry, and many are not paying themselves.
“They are certainly not in a position to pay arrears to the Australian Taxation Office or settle rent arrears.
“If interest rates and mortgage payments continue to rise, already sluggish demand in many segments of foodservice will only worsen,” he said.
Limited purchasing power
New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows Australians’ pay increases are lagging behind the rising cost of living.
The wage price index for the 12 months to December 2025 showed wages rose by 3.4 percent, lower than inflation over the same period of 3.8 percent.
This reduces the income available to eat out.
It also means smaller foodservice operators with razor-thin margins are likely to remain at risk, Coghlan said.
“Unfortunately, Australia’s foodservice industry is under real pressure and is already experiencing a higher rate of business closures than any other sector.
“With the recent interest rate rises and ongoing consumer price index challenges, we expect this to continue to have a serious impact on this sector for the remainder of the year.
“The costs of ingredients and utilities have risen and continue to rise.
‘We are also seeing pressure on rental prices, which is putting pressure on cafes, dining rooms and restaurants.
“Many owners are locked into leases in key retail areas where landlords implemented sharp increases as pandemic-era concessions ended,” he said.
Hard work and cost cutting have turned the tables at Boss Pizzeria, and Bootsrakoothanachok hopes to be an inspiration to others.
“We have managed to clear all our debt, so we have no loans related to the business,” she said.
Friendly customer service has also helped build customer loyalty.
“This is the best pizza I’ve ever had, and I keep coming back because I love the taste and the atmosphere,” said patron Angela Harris.
Bootsrakoothanachok hopes to open a second business this year and recently returned from visiting family in Thailand.
“I just have to keep fighting until I win, and now I have actually won,” she said.
“So I’m very proud of myself.”
This story was created in collaboration with SBS Thai.
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