Seaside eatery scoops patrons and prizes

A seaside restaurant and bar with a casual buffet menu for thrifty customers, which has won two of New Zealand's biggest restaurant competitions, is on the market.

Joust Beach Bar and Buffet, at 268 Hibiscus Coast Highway in Orewa, north of Auckland, was the Auckland regional winner of the Monteith's Wild Food Challenge in 2005 and, a year later, won recognition in the New Zealand Beef and Lamb Hallmark of Excellence Awards.

The business has been owned throughout by mother-and-son team Joy and Justin Stedmances, with Joy running front-of-house services and Justin overseeing the kitchen. After running the successful operation for seven years, the duo are now looking at new lifestyle opportunities.

Mustan Bagasra, Bayleys commercial and industrial sales and business broker in Orewa, is marketing Joust for sale as a business going concern with offers taken until November 18.

The business operates within a leased two-level building, with the lease running until 2014 with three further three-year rights of renewal.

The street-level retail area of 154sq m has an annual lease of $59,000 and the first-level accommodation area of 120sq m, housing staff who work at the restaurant, is leased for $15,500 per annum and is GST exempt.

The business comprises three "zones" for customers: the front restaurant service area overlooking Orewa's main road, the smaller bar adjacent to the restaurant and a large outdoor-dining courtyard at the rear.

An open-plan kitchen allows the activity and aromas of the kitchen to be observed by bar and restaurant patrons in a theatrical style. The bar area has capacity for 12 customers, while the covered courtyard allows for private functions and events to be held simultaneously with public dining in the front area.

"For many restaurants, having a function book out the entire premises for a night means they have to turn away regular clientele," Bagasra says. "By operating two independent dining areas, Joust avoids such clashes as the courtyard can be configured to have guests arriving and departing through a dedicated access route. Alternatively, the rear courtyard can be used as an overflow area when the main dining floor overlooking the beach is booked out. With a retractable roof above, the 70sq m outdoor courtyard also comes into its own over the summer months when Joust benefits from a substantial 'walk-up' trade as a result of being directly across from Orewa Beach."

The building housing Joust also has a three-bedroom flat above the restaurant included in the lease.

This year, the restaurant's a la carte menu was converted to make Joust a buffet-style eatery - the only one of its kind in the Orewa township, which has a clientele catchment area spreading well up the nearby Whangaparaoa Peninsula and across into Silverdale.

About $30,000 was invested in new buffet-servery stations and on reconfiguring the dining area to enable a more efficient foot-traffic flow.

"With no other competition around the region in this buffet market, and with consumers now conscious about their budget when dining out, Joust has the potential to provide a solid return on investment," Bagasra says.

The business is being sold with a number of weddings and birthday functions already booked in for the summer season. Further scope for developing revenue should come from increasing Joust's daytime cafe trade during summer weekend days.

"With the opening of the new State Highway 1 expressway several years ago, retail and food-service businesses along Hibiscus Coast Highway have thrived with the precinct becoming far more pedestrian friendly."

Joust employs two full-time staff, with a part-time complement of 10 staff, and operates seven days a week.