Client Story: From a Catchphrase to a Café
Anujh Kukreja is the owner of Too Tired, a new café in Camberwell built around a catchphrase, a love of good food and more than a decade of hospitality experience.
But knowing how to make great food and knowing how to build a business around it are two very different things. That’s why Anujh sought out Aintree Group to help bring his vision to life.
The Inspiration
For more than a decade, Anujh worked his way across the hospitality industry in cafés, restaurants and resorts.
Throughout those years, there was one phrase he found himself saying over and over again. One that anyone who has worked in hospitality can probably relate to:
‘I’m too tired.’
Eventually, the running joke became the basis of his business plans.
‘I always said that one day, if I ever had the opportunity to open up my own café or sandwich shop, I’m going to call it Too Tired.’
Originally from Malaysia, Anujh’s ability to pursue opening his own café was closely tied to obtaining his Australian visa. For a long time, starting a business simply wasn’t an option.
Then came the call he had been waiting for. The first stage of his visa application had been approved, giving him the freedom to finally pursue the idea he had been sitting on for years.
With more than a decade in hospitality and a career as a chef behind him, Anujh knew his way around a kitchen. But running an entire business was another matter.
‘Being a chef, I know everything to do with food. I know how to make good food. I know how to cost and budget good food, but that’s the extent of my knowledge.’
Like many first-time business owners, Anujh was discovering just how much has to happen behind the scenes before you can even open the doors.
Finding Aintree Group
As it happened, the support Anujh needed was close to home. Living near Aintree Group’s HQ in Hawthorn East, he had driven past us countless times.
When the time came to find an accountant for his new business, he decided to send through an enquiry.
‘I was starting to open up a café and I was like, I’m going to get an accounting group because it’s either that or have no idea what I’m doing.’
That enquiry introduced Anujh to the Aintree Group Accounting team, including George Ozzimo, who began working closely with him as Too Tired took shape.
Bringing Too Tired to life, together.
Opening a café means making hundreds of decisions at once.
While Anujh focused on the fit-out, suppliers, menu, equipment and everything needed to serve his customers, our team helped him navigate the business behind it.
George worked alongside Anujh through the establishment process, helping with the financial and administrative requirements of getting Too Tired up and running, including business registrations, invoicing and other back-end requirements.
When it came time to secure the space, our Legal team also reviewed Anujh’s proposed lease and provided guidance on its terms and conditions.
Having previously worked in hospitality himself, George understood how quickly the operational demands of opening a café could take over and how valuable it was for Anujh to have support with everything happening behind the scenes.
With suppliers to coordinate, a café to build, a menu to create and an opening to prepare for, taking some of the financial, administrative and legal workload off Anujh’s plate gave him more capacity to focus on bringing Too Tired to life.
As George put it:
‘You’re the expert in the kitchen and the front of house. We’re the experts in the books. The more that we can take from you regarding that back-end side of things allows you to be as stress-free as possible.‘
The storefront Anujh took over had previously operated as a Filipino restaurant, with a layout and design very different from what he had envisioned for Too Tired.
From cleaning and renovations to equipment and branding, Anujh gradually transformed the space. Until finally he was sitting in his very own space.
‘For me, it’s pretty surreal. From the starting process when I bought the café, it had a different layout, a different design. Every single day of the journey it slowly became more of what I see as my vision for the café.’
George watched that transformation happen too, from the early progress photos of the cleaning and renovations through to walking into the finished café.
‘I saw some of the progress photos you sent me of the cleaning, the renos and bits and pieces, and it feels like a dream come true for you.’
Advising above and beyond: Giving ‘bean-counters’ a whole new meaning.
Sometimes supporting a start-up business means reviewing a lease.
Sometimes it means lending out your coffee machine.
In this case, it was both.
When Anujh was deciding which coffee supplier to use for Too Tired, we offered him the Aintree Group office coffee machine to test his options, with our team more than happy to step in as taste-testers and provide their feedback.
Starting a business is exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. Having the right people around you means you can spend more time focusing on what you do best.
For Anujh, that meant taking years of hospitality experience and a catchphrase he couldn’t shake and turning them into a café of his own.
For us, it meant helping him get the ducks in a row behind the scenes so he could open the doors. And, naturally, taste-testing a few things along the way.
‘I honestly think I couldn’t be where I am right now without Aintree Group. Just the mental load of you guys handling the finance side of it and the legal stuff has taken mountains of pressure from my shoulders.’
The Outcome
Too Tired Café Camberwell officially opened for business in September 2026.
The menu combines familiar café favourites with elements of Anujh’s own background and cooking style, from classics like the tuna melt, Reuben and bacon and egg, to teriyaki mushrooms.
And if you ask Anujh what you should order first? His answer is the chicken burger.
Marinated with Malaysian pepper spices, it has enough heat to give it a kick without, as Anujh puts it, ‘burning your mouth off’.
Visit Too Tired at 726 Burke Road Camberwell
Starting a Business of Your Own?
A great idea and industry expertise are an important starting point, but there is much more sitting behind a successful business.
From getting your structure and registrations right to understanding your finances, reviewing agreements and planning for what comes next, getting advice early can help you build stronger foundations from the beginning.
At Aintree Group, our Accounting, Legal, Wealth and Advisory teams work together to help business owners understand the bigger picture, reduce complexity and focus their energy where it matters most.
If you are thinking about starting a business or are already putting the pieces together, reach out to our team to find out how we can help.
This article contains general information only and has not been prepared with your individual circumstances, objectives or needs in mind. We recommend seeking professional advice appropriate to your circumstances.
