Slice of Europe in the centre of the capital

The Astoria is the largest cafe in Wellington and in good weather many customers will sit outside doubling the establishment's capacity. Photo / Supplied

One of Wellington's best known meeting and eating places, Caffe Astoria on Midland Park in Lambton Quay, is up for sale as a business going concern after almost 14 years of trading under the same ownership.

"The owners of Astoria, Sue Dempsey and Janice Kirkwood, feel that it is now time to pursue some fresh challenges and give someone else an opportunity to put their mark on the cafe," says Ty Dallas of Colliers' Wellington Office, who is marketing the business jointly with Raman Khandu of Tommy's Real Estate. The sale process is by tender with a deadline for offers set for 4pm November 4.

Dallas said there had already been a high level of interest in the Astoria which he believes will fetch a top sale price. He said industry sources estimated it would cost at least $1.8 million to fitout and establish Astoria from scratch at today's prices.

"The Astoria is the largest cafe in Wellington, seating 150 customers and in the summer months the outside seating capacity doubles along with customers using the take-out service. The 37 strong staff serves over 1200 cups of coffee a day, using 175kg of roasted coffee per week. The cafe area is 236sq m with a storage area of 64sq m and there are administration offices close to the cafe which are available under a separate lease.

"One of the Astoria's points of differences is that they roast their own coffee on the premises to the customers' blend which is a big saving for a new buyer of the business. And there is potential to supply roast coffee for other operators," Dallas says.

The original concept for Astoria was modelled on cafes in Budapest, Prague, Vienna, Porto, Barcelona and Paris.

"The interior design was based on the timeless feel of the grand old belle epoque establishments of Europe using large mirrors, decorative steel work, banquette seating and a dark palette," says Dallas.

He believes the growing trend towards open plan offices makes cafes like the Astoria an ideal place for meetings in the capital by business people and public servants.

"Major events held in Wellington such as the Monet exhibition, World of Wearable Arts, International Festival of the Arts along with sporting fixtures and concerts have also provided a big boost to the Astoria's earnings," Dallas says. "According to figures just out, the World of Wearable Arts this month pumped in excess of $10 million into the local economy."

Khandu says the Astoria ticks all the important boxes for a successful cafe business - sunny location, ambience and excellent returns.

"Astoria's consistent sales, potential growth and the low cost of finance make the business an attractive proposition. Astoria offers a number of potential areas for growth including a greater emphasis on evening cocktails and meals given that there is only one other ground floor licensed premises on the Lambton Quay "golden mile".

There is also the potential to hire out the venue for functions.

Khandu says Astoria offers a large selection of counter food including sandwiches, muffins, panini, brioche, cakes, scones, salads and hot bakes.

"Everything is prepared from scratch on the premises. The counter is on a six week rotation, ensuring popular items appear regularly on display."

He says the owners of Astoria pride themselves on running the business as a "tight ship" and there is an operations manual which will assist a smooth handover of the business.

"All the kitchen chattels are in good working order and are serviced on a regular basis," Khandu says.

"It is expected a new owner will take over the business with a secure lease early in the new year."