Starbucks to boost Yatala Pie hub as Beenleigh’s Preece’s cafe closes

A tourist landmark south of Brisbane will be super-sized into a coffee and food hub when US giant Starbucks opens its seventh drive-through outlet south of Brisbane, opposite Yatala Pies next month.

High rents have been blamed for the closure of the popular Preece’s cafe in Beenleigh’s George St, while Starbucks is expected to pick up custom at its new Yatala centre.

A tourist landmark south of Brisbane will be super-sized into a coffee and food hub when US giant Starbucks opens its seventh drive-through outlet in the northern Gold Coast, opposite Yatala Pies next month.

Construction has started at the former Beenleigh Yatala Motor Inn and Lloyds Restaurant, which closed in September after being flooded three times in five years.

Along with Starbucks, the new Yatala Convenience Centre, being built by construction firm SJ Higgins Group, will include Guzman Y Gomez and an Ampol Australia service station with a fourth tenant yet to be announced.

The prime commercial site, on the Pacific Motorway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, is at the busy Exit 38, which has risen as a popular rest stop anchored by Yatala Pies.

Gunman Y Gomez started advertising for more than 60 staff this week with the Mexican restaurant due to open in May.

The former Yatala Motor Inn and Restaurant which has been demolished to make way for the Starbucks complex on the M1.

Belmonde Property Group is developing the $25 million project which service some of the 160,000 plus vehicles that pass each day and the adjacent $1 billion Yatala Enterprise Area which will employ 40,000 people upon completion.

Belmonde Property Group’s Todd Brown

Belmonde managing director Todd Brown said the 6600sq m site was surrounded by Carlton United Brewery, Aldi, Woolworths and VIP Petfoods.

“Our development is the only northbound opportunity into the Yatala Enterprise Area, and high-profile highway locations such as this have more consistent trade throughout a 24-hour period and faster year-on-year growth due to driver habit when compared to traditional residential based sites,” he said.

The opening of the Starbucks precinct will follow this month’s demise of popular Beenleigh cafe Preece’s, which is less than 6km away and known for its coffee and vanilla slices.

The Queensland coffee and cake chain will close its doors for the final time in Beenleigh on February 22, but with the chain continuing its successful coffee shops at Shorncliffe and Redcliffe.

Preece’s in Beenleigh was known for its vanilla slice and coffee.

Management thanked staff in an online post, where it was revealed a Greek restaurant will move into the George St vacancy left by the coffee shop.

It will be the seventh major coffee shop to close in Beenleigh in the past 18 months with Zaraffa's, Cafe Edge, Zambezes, Chez’s and Tin Cup Cafe all shutting in the past year.

Shops in Beenleigh Marketplace’s food hall have also struggled and the size of the centre’s eatery has been reduced.

Major cafes Deganis, Cafe 63, Sweet As Brew, City Road Cafe, HitCafe, Gloria Jean’s and Luv A Coffee all remain open.

Beenleigh businesses blamed exorbitant rents in the George St complex, where Preece’s had been a tenant for years.

A 2019 report into bringing corrective services into Beenleigh.

However, other long-time customers cited a 2019 Logan City Council and Queensland University document, which recommended the town centre become a social capital hub for government agencies focusing on offenders’ serving community corrections orders.

It is believed Preece’s cafe was paying more than $7000 a month to rent the shop which had a floor space larger than the average 200 sqm shop in the complex.

Starbucks started an ambitious rollout across southeast Queensland with the opening of a store at Indooroopilly and plans to open a drive-through at Yarrabilba.