For sale – 11 cafes
If you’re in the market for a cafe in Taranaki, you’re in luck – there are 11 up for grabs.
Trade Me and Real.Estate.co.nz business listings have cafes in New Plymouth CBD, Frankleigh Park and Ha¯ wera on the market.
While a few have been sitting there for months or a year, others have just gone up, with prices ranging from $70,000-$450,000.
Craig Macfarlane, who coowns a number of hospitality businesses in New Plymouth, Auckland, Queenstown, and London, said 11 was quite a high number to be on the market.
Macfarlane said running a cafe is not easy and that may have taken its toll on some.
‘‘Hospitality’s a funny thing – it’s so intrinsically complicated,’’ he said. ‘‘There’s no room for error.’’
Plus, there’s an ‘‘oversupply’’ of them across the region, he said.
Macfarlane is selling one of the cafes he co-owns – Lush Cafe in Centre City.
The sale is not a result of Covid-19; they just feel the cafe needs an owner-operator who can spend more time on site, he said.
Amanda Crehan, who owns The Cure in Westown with her husband, Tom, is selling the business after building it up from scratch.
‘‘It’s been five years, it’s time to move on,’’ Crehan said. ‘‘I am sad to see it go, but it’s been fantastic.’’
The Crehans started the business, which sits on the corner of David and Tukapa streets, after working in the area for 10 years and seeing a need.
They came up with the name ‘‘The Cure’’ as Taranaki Base Hospital is nearby, and they felt like it could be a ‘‘cure for the area’’.
‘‘Our customers are so regular and there’s so much foot traffic,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s been really lifeaffirming.’’
The business has been better post-lockdown than before, and Crehan thinks that will continue for the next owner.
‘‘It’s got past its five years, so we know it’s going to keep going.’’
She said she had had plenty of interest.
Ronika Bhui, who owns Anniekim’s Cafe in New Plymouth’s Richmond Centre, said prospective buyers had come through the door to look around.
Bhui, who is originally from India, took over the cafe two years ago and said she had built it, and its reputation, up.
She has lived and worked in New Zealand for nine years and has no family other than her husband.
‘‘It’s very hard for me, I’m really all by myself.’’
She learnt Kiwi cooking from scratch in a culinary course in 2011 and loves it.
‘‘My passion was to open a cafe,’’ Bhui said. ‘‘I love this place, I can see my hard work here.’’
She had a good flow of regular customers and walk-ins, too, but said it was her time to settle down.
‘‘I am very tired.’’
Many of the owners of the 11 cafes did not want to speak about their decision to sell, with one owner saying their decision was not based on the impact of Covid19, and another saying they planned to pull their business off the market.
Taranaki Chamber of Commerce chief executive Arun Chaudhari said it was not all doom and gloom.
‘‘Across Taranaki that might sound like it’s a worrying figure, but across the board it’s looking good,’’ Chaudhari said.
‘‘While there might be some on the market, there’s still people investing in new businesses, too.’’