Shop lifted: Popular drive-through coffee shop vanishes overnight

CUSTOMERS looking to get their morning fix at a popular Darwin coffee drive-through shop were shocked to discover the entire building had vanished overnight

Safety fencing surrounds the drive-through site of the old Darwin Muzz Buzz franchise — which had recently been renamed to Craze Coffee and Juice. Picture: Justin Kennedy

CUSTOMERS looking to get their morning caffeine fix at Crave on Sunday morning were shocked to discover the entire building had been uprooted and shifted overnight.

Owners of the popular Darwin coffee drive-through Kimdelia and Rod Cole said they decided to lift and move the 4x12m building in the cover of darkness over a lease dispute.

The couple owned and operated a Muzz Buzz drive-through coffee franchise at Darwin Airport Central for two years until they terminated their contract with the chain last month, repainted the building and reopened it independently as Crave.

“We don’t want to come to any new agreement with Muzz Buzz corporate ... ” Mrs Cole said.

“But the lease for the plot our building is on is signed to Muzz Buzz corporate and they said they’re going to evict us from our own building unless we repaint everything again and go back to Muzz Buzz.

“We were pushed into a corner, we’re just little battlers just trying to run a business.

“My husband got to a point where he said: ‘I’m dying of cancer anyway, I’ve got nothing to lose. Let’s just do it and take what’s ours.”

With some help from a few of their loyal customers she said they lifted the building about 4am on Sunday.

Muzz Buzz chairman Warren Reynolds said they had removed the building illegally and the franchise chain was pursuing legal action against the couple.

“We’re looking for a new franchisee, we’ll be replacing the building and our lease will continue,” he said.

“It was one of our top stores in Australia and it’s a shame it had to come to this because they were given the sublease at the beginning.

“They stopped paying rent in March this year and haven’t paid a cent since

“But at no stage were they asked to leave the site. The only thing we require is they operate as a Muzz Buzz.

“That building design and shape is a trademarked to us, it can only be used to operate a Muzz Buzz store. You can’t just take someone’s IP and use it to your own ends.”

A spokesman from Northern Territory Airports refused to comment on the matter because it was “a matter between the franchisor and franchisee”.