The Fairy Meadow location of a much loved Mediterranean-inspired cafe is up for sale, as the owners plan to expand elsewhere in the Illawarra.
Steve Gunes, co-owner of Evil Eye Cafe announced the business was on the market via Instagram yesterday.
Mr Gunes opened the cafe on the corner of Cabbage Tree Lane and Vereker Street with his son Kayahan just prior to the first COVID lockdown, forcing the family-run business to immediately pivot to take-away only service.
In the three years since, the turquoise blue institution has become a staple for Fairy Meadow locals, as well as visitors from further afield.
In 2021, the father-son duo opened a second outlet on Cliff Road and last year announced plans to pursue a franchise model.
This appetite for growth precipitated Mr Gunes's decision to put the original site on the market, to fund expansion further south.
"We've got several opportunities at the moment around Shellharbour," he said.
The family is holding on to the Cliff Road cafe and said the new owners of the Fairy Meadow site could take the business as is, or make changes as they saw fit.
"We want it to stay as it is, but we're happy to accommodate people bringing their own ideas to the table as well," Mr Gunes said.
The owners say they have fielded around a dozen inquiries from operators interested in the business, both based in the Illawarra and Sydney and said the cafe had continued to trade strongly, even as consumer spending drops.
"We're finding a big breakfast will be shared between two," Mr Gunes said. "Instead of buying two, people buy one and buy extra hashbrowns to beef it up a bit."
After three years behind the espresso machine, and other times out in front of it, Mr Gunes said surviving through COVID and the arrival of the UCI Road World Championships were memories that stood out, as well as creating a home away from home for the Greek and Turkish community, but at it was time to take on the next challenge.
"The ultimate reason why we wanted to sell is so we can focus on the next one and grow."
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