Albany Regional Airport’s cafe closed to cut costs

Albany Regional Airport’s cafe will be replaced by vending machines in an effort to cut costs.

The move comes as the City of Albany failed to find an operator who could run a cafe at the airport without a subsidy.

In the interim, the City is looking for an operator who can run the cafe without financial support to replace previous site holder Quick Shot Coffee.

“We’ve followed due process and considered a number of proposals very carefully but on this occasion we were unable to attract an operator that would run the service without a significant ongoing subsidy,” City of Albany chief executive Andrew Sharpe told The West Australian.

“Subsidising what should be a commercial operation would be inconsistent with other leases the City manages, so for the time being we will have vending machines to ensure travellers can still buy coffee or snacks and these will be serviced and re-stocked at no cost to the City.

“From a customer service perspective we’d prefer not to have vending machines, so we’ll continue to explore options to find someone who can run the cafe viably.”

Current lessee Christopher Saurin said the City had offered a subsidy of up to $150,000 a year when he submitted a tender for the site.

Sheridan Randall, 13^th March 2019