Kangaroo Point cafe owners dumped for by council for new operator
A decision by Brisbane City Council to award a tender to run a popular cafe overlooking Kangaroo Point to Fortitude Valley-based Bellissimo Coffee has been slammed by the current operators who say they have been left high and dry despite boosting sales by almost 40 per cent.
The Virzi family lost out on the tender despite boosting sales by 39 per cent from the previous operator, investing about $70,000 in new equipment and offering a full menu with table service.
“We were told that 99 per cent of the time they went with the existing operator,” a spokesman for the family told The Courier Mail.
The family has been in the hospitality business for 40 years, saying that if the matter was simply down to the new operator offering more in rent it would be understandable. But the successful tenderer was offering the same amount of rent as Bar Spritz.
“If they came in and offered $100,000 more I would have gladly handed them the keys and said good luck,” the spokesman told The Courier Mail.
The council received seven submissions to operate the cafe with the successful tender approved by the full council in November.
Sheridan Randall, 21st February 2020
