Cuckoo Restaurant: Olinda institution for sale after venue closure
It was a beloved venue for more than 60 years, now the hunt is on for a new owner to give an Olinda institution a fresh lease on life.
Outer East
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Beloved Olinda restaurant The Cuckoo is for sale, with the hunt on for a buyer who can reinvent the once-thriving tourist mecca.
The German-inspired venue, which pioneered the smorgasbord concept in Australia, traded successfully for 62 years until Covid hit, with the restaurant closing for good earlier this year.
Manager Andrei Koeppen, whose parents Karin and Willi Koeppen started the restaurant in 1958, told Leader at the time the loss of international tourists, combined with lockdowns and restrictions on buffet dining, made it too hard for the business to survive.
The freehold, including all the land, building, and equipment – including two grand pianos – is now for sale, with CRE Brokers agent Lloyd Nunn handling the sale.
Mr Nunn said it was an amazing opportunity for someone to take on the iconic space and transform it into a new venue.
He said the owners of The Cuckoo had targeted the “coach crowd”, with thousands of Asian tourists visiting regularly.
He said he didn’t believe The Cuckoo could open again in the same format.
“Those tourists don’t exist anymore,” he said.
“Whoever does take it on is going to have to come up with a completely different model as to what they do (on the site).”
Mr Nunn said the impacts of Covid, along with the vendors living in different states, had led to their decision to sell the freehold and let a new venue arise.
“It could be a brewery, a pub, a live music venue, it could even be a training centre,” he said.
“Whoever buys it is only limited by their own creativity.
“It just takes someone to come on board and come up with a business plan to turn the venue around.”
Mr Koeppen previously told Leader when his parents opened The Cuckoo it was an instant success, and had remained popular right until Covid closed the doors in 2020.
The Cuckoo was originally The Quamby, which started in 1904 as a small tea room on the road to Olinda before Karin and Willi purchased it in 1958.
Willi disappeared in 1976 and the case remains an open investigation with the Victoria Police Missing Persons division.
“We estimate the Cuckoo has served around 10 million customers in its history,” he said.
“It is widely regarded as one of the oldest restaurants in Australia and possibly the most popular.
“In recent years we were seeing 14 coaches per day, of mostly overseas tourists, who regarded The Cuckoo as an essential experience alongside Puffing Billy, Healesville Sanctuary and Phillip Island’s penguins.”
Famous guests included former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, The Rolling Stones and Beatle George Harrison.
Mr Nunn said there had been great interest from potential buyers in the site, which is divided into two parts making up almost 4ha of land.
According to the real estate listing, the size and scale of The Cuckoo can only be fully realised after a walk through the estate.
The main building area has an overall floor area of around 1065sq m across three levels.
All fixtures and fittings are included in the sale including the two grand pianos.
The venue has a restaurant and cafe liquor licence until 1am catering for 500 people.
Turnover was an average of $60k a week.
The vendors are looking for expressions of interest for the purchase of the freehold.
Details: barsalesmelbourne.com.au
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