High-profile café premises for sale has investors salivating

The land and buildings housing a café opposite one of New Zealand’s most instantly-recognisable roadside attractions have been placed on the market for sale.

The replica character building housing Cabbage Tree Cafe is located diagonally across the road from the famous corrugated iron dog and sheep buildings on State Highway One in the Waikato township of Tirau.

While the early 20th century-reproduction building was constructed in the 1990s, Cabbage Tree Cafe has been operating from the location for four years. Cabbage Tree Cafe is currently on lease running through to 2023 – generating a net rental of $40,836 plus GST per annum, with one further five-year right of renewal and rental reviews every two years.

The property at 38 Main Road Tirau is being marketed for sale at auction at noon on March 7 through Bayleys Hamilton. Salespeople Mike Swanson and Alex ten Hove said the 230 square metre two-storey Cabbage Tree Cafe building sat on some 462 square metres of freehold land zoned Tirau town centre under South Waikato District Council’s operative district plan.

Mr Swanson said Cabbage Tree Cafe building was constructed to reflect a rustic colonial style interior decor consisting of wooden floorboards and wooden bar service area. Outside, the busy food and beverage premises encompassed a distinctive wooden front deck which featured barrel tables and seating under the fretwork, and substantial additional customer seating at street level.

He said customers patronising Cabbage Tree Cafe had the option of either parking at the rear of the premises, or the easier choice of utilising a substantial number of unmetered parking spaces on both sides of the Main Road/State Highway One route directly outside the venue.

“As a ‘stop-off’ destination on one of the main arterial routes linking the metropolitan centres of Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga to points north and south along the country’s main highway, Tirau sits on a strategic junction,” he said.

Mr Swanson said the Cabbage Tree Cafe premises had been well maintained inside and outside throughout its life – a practice which had benefitted the tenant by making it an attractive option for visitors to patronise. The Cabbage Tree Cafe building contains administration and staff amenity rooms in its upper level.

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