Popular Little and Friday cafes for sale
LINK Business Broking is selling “Little and Friday”, two cafes which operate from premises leased in Auckland suburbs of Belmont and Newmarket respectively.
And there’s nothing like them in the entire city of Auckland, according to LINK Business Broker Nick Giles.
“Little & Friday is an Auckland institution which serves some of the very best cafe food in Auckland and donuts to die for,” Giles says.
He explains that the owner, Kim Evans, established Little & Friday in 2007 — a venture first housed in a former small butcher’s shop where she would prep on a Thursday night and only open on Fridays, “hence the name, Little and Fridays.”
To Giles, the best indication of the incredible success of the brand, is that the whole operation, pioneered in one little shop at 43 Eversleigh Rd, Belmont, expanded in just a few years to occupy all-five-shops in the block where it first commenced operations.
“And that’s as well as opening the additional cafe at 11 McColl St, Newmarket,” he adds.
“From being a quirky operation begun by a visionary baker — this remarkable business now employs more than 30 staff. Kim has produced three cookbooks and added breakfast, lunch and dinner menus to the original cabinet fare.”
Giles says Kim’s initial concept was disarmingly simple — to be completely transparent . . . and make everything from scratch.
“There isn’t a microwave to be seen at the front counter; they heat and prep their food in an oven, using fresh ingrediants and always favouring free range and organic,” he says.
“Before you enter the Belmont shop, you can inspect those beautifully presented donuts, tarts, scones, savoury and cakes in the window. You can also fully observe how they make their sweets from the windows.
“The unique interior decor concept involves bright white painted walls that looks like an industrial warehouse with a very retro feel. Wooden tables are paired with retro chairs and coloured stalls.
“What’s most interesting about the decor is that they use animal toys as the table numbers . . . Behind the counter is their open kitchen but also a huge shelf of hot cross buns, scones, and donuts.”
Giles says food writer Alice Harbourne described Little and Friday donuts as “the best you will ever eat”.
He says following the Newmarket store opening, Kim received repeated offers to set up similar stores all over Auckland and, while there was a tentative foray into the CBD with a small “tuck shop” and also a period where Kim occupied what was Coffee Supreme’s “Good One” Cafe, in the backstreets of Ponsonby, she ultimately decided to concentrate on the operations at Belmont and Newmarket.
“The business side runs well but there is always room for improvement and a fresh set of eyes could certainly tighten the odd cost.”
Sales through the stores are an impressive $3,285,378 per annum exclusive of GST, he points out.
“That’s an average of $72,657 inc GST per week, which is impressive stuff. Belmont accounts for about 54 per cent of the sales and Newmarket 46 per cent”.
He says the combined rent for the two stores is exceptionally low at 3.6 per cent of sales — the wonderful cream donuts are the top seller. “The ‘made from scratch’ and fresh organic produce concepts are so popular nowadays and there is definitely a cult following in place.”
At a glance
● The Belmont operation has free street parking outside shop and in surrounding streets.
● Newmarket has paid parking, both outside the shop and in surrounding streets.
● At Belmont the rent is $72,854.28net pa and the current fiveyear-lease has a final expiry in April
2019. A new lease will be drawn up as part of the sale.
● At Newmarket the net rent is $45,000 pa and the current eight-year lease expires December 31, 2023.
● Belmont employs eight full time staff in the kitchen and four front of house; plus two part-timers in the kitchen and four front of house.
● Newmarket employs two full time staff and seven part-time front of house.
● Hours at both sites are 7am till
3.30pm Monday to Friday — 8am till
4pm at weekends.
● The total asking price for the Little and Friday operations, comprising both tangible and intangible assets (including all associated Intellectual Property), is $1,790,000 plus stock.