Top Waymouth St restaurant Press Food & Wine up for sale
The owners of CBD restaurant Press Food & Wine are bowing out after nearly 10 years in Waymouth Street’s bustling dining scene, putting the award-winning restaurant on the market.
SA Business
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Award-winning CBD restaurant Press Food & Wine has been put on the market by its owners, who are bowing out almost ten years after helping to kickstart Waymouth Street’s bustling dining scene.
Press was a pioneer of nose-to-tail and communal dining when it opened in September 2011, and quickly became famous for its roast suckling pig feasting menu.
Managing partner Eloise Riggs, who runs the restaurant with business partners Simon Kardachi, Andy Davies, Sally Davey and Tim White, said it was the right time to pass the venue onto new operators.
“This has been my life for the past decade, being at Press looking after the floor,” she said.
“We opened Press with the vision to create the kind of restaurant we would like to eat at, and the public responded to that.
“Almost 10 years on and thousands of diners later, we feel the time is right to hand over the reins and create space for exciting, new iterations.
“In restaurants, 10 years is pretty amazing and it’s a good time to go out on a high.”
The sale of the restaurant comes with “a first class fit out for well under replacement cost”, according to Commercial Adelaide, which is managing the sale.
Together with restaurant stalwarts George’s and Bistro Dom, and sister restaurant Melt next door, Press has helped to create a vibrant dining precinct on Waymouth Street.
Over the years it has won a series of awards, including appearing on The Weekend Australian’s Hot 50 Restaurant lists in 2012 and 2013, and scoring hats in the 2018 and 2019 national Good Food Guides.
The restaurant has resumed its pre-COVID opening hours, but remains closed on Sundays due to the decline in the number of tourists in the city.
Ms Riggs, who retains an interest in the adjacent Proof bar and Peel Street eateries Bread & Bone and Maybe Mae, said the decision to sell Press was made last year, prior to the onset of COVID-19.
“Everything’s good at the moment – sure there’s obviously been a downturn this year but we’re still strong and this is not a reflection of the current environment,” she said.
“I think we’re extremely lucky in South Australia – everyone’s adapted really well and I do see a bright future for dining and hospitality here.”
