Brisbane City Council orders Kangaroo Point cafe owners to hand over venue

The owners of a popular cafe with stunning views of the city have been told by the Brisbane City Council to pack up their business and hand over the premises to another operator.

THE owners of a popular cafe overlooking Kangaroo Point say they are being forced out by Brisbane City Council bureaucrats despite boosting sales by almost 40 per cent.

The Virzi family, which have run Bar Spritz through their company G and G Group since 2017, has lost the tender to operate the River Terrace site to Fortitude Valley-based Bellissimo Coffee, which will take over at the end of the month.

That was despite the family 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.

A Brisbane City Council spokesperson said the council received seven submissions to operate the cafe and the recommended operator, assessed by council’s procurement officers, was Bellissimo Coffee.

The recommendation was approved by the full council in November.

The iconic spot, with its views of the city, has become popular with local identities and celebrities including former Lord Mayor Sallyanne Atkinson, Jeff Horn, Wendell Sailor, Gordon Tallis and taxi tycoon Neill Ford.

Cafe Spritz staff member Lili Fonroques serves a customer. The popular outlet is closing its doors at the end of the month after losing out in the tender. Photo: Glen Norris

A spokesman for the family, who have operated restaurants in Brisbane for the past 40 years, said the business had employed a professional tender writer to make its submission to council and was told it was unusual for a well-run business already operating to lose a tender.

“We were told that 99 per cent of the time they went with the existing operator,” the spokesman said. However, he said council bureaucrats put up roadblocks in the way of the business as it tried to make improvements.

“We put an airconditioner in the kitchen but they said we couldn’t do that even though there was a hole in the roof where one had been taken out,” the spokesperson said.

“Then when we wanted to put up some shelves and they said we needed architectural plans.”

He said the cafe’s plans to put in a pizza oven were kiboshed when the council said it could only operate it three days a week. “Despite all that we still boosted sales,” he said.

The cafe has views of the city from Kangaroo Point. Photo: Glen Norris

According to council documents seen by The Courier-Mail, Spritz Bar lost the tender because “it provided less benefits to the local community in the operating concept, use of local produce and environmentally sustainable initiatives than the recommended tenderer.”

Yet the Virzi family spokesman said the cafe recycled its straws, plastic waste and coffee grounds while all fish, meat and fresh produce was sourced locally.

“We have so many functions here, including weddings and corporate events,” said the spokesman

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,” he said. “Our family has been in the hospitality business for 40 years.”

Spritz Bar during the annual river fire event.

The cafe has been open since 2017 and become a popular haunt for local identities. Photo: Glen Norris