Unique Cafe and Bar Business For Sale
Picton, New Zealand

Honest food at honest prices

The Echo was the last ship plying commercially under sail in New Zealand waters. She has now been refurbished to serve as a Café and Bar business within the Picton Marina Precinct.

This historic vessel is both a museum and a popular meeting place for locals as well as amazed tourists.

Popular cafe and bar

The New Zealand scow was typically a flat-bottomed vessel of kauri wood construction, with a very shallow draught and ranging in size from 40 ft to 128 ft. They were used for carrying an infinite variety of cargo all around the New Zealand coast and were instrumental in the early development of many towns with a river port.

The Echo was built in 1905 as a topsail schooner with a Hercules oil engine of 30 hp. Large centerboards were lowered to prevent leeward drift when sailing. For most of her life she sailed back and forth across Cook Strait between Blenheim and Wellington. In 1942, she was requisitioned by the US Army as a supply ship for the New Hebrides and New Guinea area. Her war service was the theme of a Hollywood film released in 1961 called "The Wackiest Ship in the Army."

In 1972, the Echo was placed on the hard in her present position and fitted out as clubrooms for the Marlborough Cruising Club. The present owners purchased her in 1992 and set about the arduous task of making her reasonably ship shape and tidy. Finally, in January 2004, they were able to open the Echo as a café and bar and to display the history of trading scows in New Zealand.

The owners have now, regretfully, put their labour of love on to the market. This is a unique business that offers the new owner an opportunity to make their mark in the New Zealand hospitality industry. It is being sold as a going concern business with everything in place to start trading from day one.

If you are practical and have flair in the industry, this is your chance to take this growing business to the next level and enjoy the rewards.

Hospitality business in a historic maritime setting

Echo Café and Bar in the Picton Marina sells:

• Home cooked café meals served above and below deck
• A selection of takeaway foods available from the "Hole in the Hull" servery
• A great selection of beers wines and spirits available at the bar
• Snacks, confectionery, ice creams and soft drinks

Below decks cafe and bar
Tables with comfortable chairs and timber shiplap ceilings

The below-deck café offers a warm and cosy experience that is rich in history. With polished wooden bar and bar stools, tables with comfortable chairs and low bulkhead ceilings, this is the place for friends and families. The inner hull is decorated with dozens of historic photos of the Echo and of other Scows that were the backbone of New Zealand’s early trading.

The below-deck area includes:

• Office with shower
• Ladies and men’s toilets
• Hatchway through the hull for takeaways

The above deck dining area draws eager patrons to enjoy spectacular views over the town, harbour and Queen Charlotte Sound. It is especially popular during the busy summer season.

One of several above-deck dining areas

Location in the Picton Marina

The Echo is dry berthed on concrete foundations alongside the Victoria Domain in the Picton Marina. She is accessible by car or foot from the Town Centre and is situated beside several popular walking tracks on the Domain.

Although the ship, café and bar are a freehold business, the land for the dry dock (320 square metres) and associated car parking is leased from Port Marlborough at a cost of $2565 + GST per annum. The lease is on a 5 x 5 x 5 year renewable basis with rent reviews every 3 years.

Assets being sold

A complete list of all fittings and chattels is available to interested buyers. Main items include:

• Benches and counters, storage cupboards, outdoor tables and umbrellas (5)
• Below-deck tables (7), chairs (26), bar stools (10), Matai centre table (2)
• Floor coverings, wall decorations, television, phone, electronic cash register
• Refrigerators (6), freezers (2), drinks refrigerators (2)
• Oven, microwave oven, fryer station, grill, small oven
• Dishwasher, coffee machine, milk shake machine

Compact, functional kitchen and servery

Day to day management at the Echo Cafe / Bar

Business Hours:
Monday to Sunday – 10.00 am to late (7 days in summer, 5 days in winter, hours with variable closing times from 8pm onwards).

Staff:
The Echo Cafe / Bar is operated by the two owners with assistance from two staff. If required, the present owners are available to assist the new owner, terms by arrangement.

Licences:
Liquor Licence - the premises are licensed for 40 people (licence hours from 9.00 am to 3.00 am, 7 days).
Mangers Certificate.

Supplier Contracts:
The business sale will include all relevant details about existing supplier contracts.

Stock:
Stock at valuation will comprise mainly alcohol at a value of $3000 to $5000.

Advertising and Promotion:
The business advertises through signboards, a listing in Telecom Yellow Pages and through advertisements in Travel Guides. The vessel has spotlights on the masts and solar lights around bulwarks, making it very obvious to all who come to the Marina. Other advertising is done on local radio (easy F.M 98.5) and via brochures in Motels, Bed and Breakfasts and Backpacker Hostels.

Contact Tim & Denise Dare on +64 3 573 7498 (days) or +64 3 573 5910 (evenings)
Mobile 021 102 7751 or 027 207 4437 (anytime)