320 Rathdowne Street, Carlton North
There’s a changing of the guard in Carlton North’s popular Rathdowne Village, following the sale of the former home of celebrity chef Adrian Richardson’s popular restaurant La Luna.
Fitzroys’ Shane Mills and James Lockwood, in conjunction with Pat Burke of MP Burke Commercial, sold the 320 Rathdowne Street corner property at auction in front of a large crowd for S2.075 million.
“This was a truly generational deal. The campaign marked the first time in 37 years the property had been for sale, while La Luna finished serving diners in August last year after 26 years at the location,” Mills said.
“The buyer is a local hospitality operator – they’re a family business, and the purchase will enable their children to start their own venture & journey in Rathdowne Village.
“They’ll look to open a bar/bistro concept, after undertaking some renovations to suit their concept.”
Burke said, “This is an exciting sale. We’re delighted to see the next generation of family hospitality operators seeking to establish a new business in this traditional precinct.”
The 270sqm double-storey building was offered with hospitality and kitchen amenities in place, with a permit in place for 110 patrons.
“We had a lot of restaurateurs come through keen to take on the existing kitchen infrastructure, perhaps spend some capital to re-energise the property into a fresh concept, and then have a restaurant ready to go in a thriving inner-north location,” Lockwood said.
“La Luna exhibited the underlying potential of the location and hospitality operators recognised the generational nature of the opportunity.”
There is the ability for the new owners to apply for a footpath trading permit which would increase the patron numbers and take advantage of the leafy outdoor setting in front of the property.
Lockwood added, “Rathdowne Village is a dynamic lifestyle precinct centred around a growing residential catchment in the heart of Melbourne’s hugely popular inner north, and is close to universities and major hospitals. The residential, worker and student populations all support strong trade in the Village, and offer excellent growth prospects.
“We also had interest from investors, occupiers – both residential & commercial and value-add buyers looking to repurpose and gain a presence in this sought-after location.”
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