Melbourne-based cafe chain, Degani Cafe, has appointed former The Coffee Club exec, Tanya Kanaris, as its new franchise development manager to drive national expansion.

With a goal to open more than 60 stores over the next two years, Kanaris will be concentrating on the Queensland, New South Wales, and Western Australia markets for potential franchise locations.

In her previous role with The Coffee Club, Kanaris was responsible for facilitating the sale of existing stores and looking after both incoming and outgoing franchisees.

She also project managed the development of The Coffee Club’s franchising website, joincoffeeclub.com.au, to generate more awareness of the brand as a business proposition.

As franchise development manager for Degani, Kanaris will develop a franchise model to accommodate the company’s expansion plans.

“Brisbane is ready for a new brand to make its mark on the cafe scene, and we’d certainly like to position Degani as the business to shake things up,” Kanaris said.

Degani was founded by Melbourne-based entrepreneur George Pezaros in 1999 with a single store.

In 2013, NBC Capital, the private equity owner of the Eagle Boys pizza chain, took a stake in the company.

At the time, George Vasiliadis, director at Degani, said: “This partnership will allow the Degani Bakery Cafe brand to strengthen its current network of stores and expand across Australia and internationally”.