Food

Tourist mecca: tenders are invited to run the Cliffs of Moher cafe

Tenders are being invited to run the Cliffs of Moher café. It's remote but 1.6 million tourists walk by each year

The cafe at the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre

Justin Comiskey
Wed Feb 6 2019 - 06:15

Longing to open your own cafe? Do you have a good business head and a head for heights at the same time? If so, an opportunity to run a cliff cafe on the end of Ireland might be just the ticket. Tenders are being invited to run the Cliffs View Cafe at the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre in Co Clare.

The competition, through agent Agar Commercial Property Consultants, is for a 10-year lease that includes a break option and rent review at the end of year five.

It is expected that whoever is selected to operate the 348sq m (3,746sq ft) facility will be in place in the coming weeks.

The cafe seats 140, is extensively fitted out and boasts views of the spectacular 214m cliffs.

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Market sources suggest the cafe could achieve a rent of more than €150,000. According to the tender documentation, however, the rent will be sought on the basis of a base rent together with a turnover top-up.

The tenant will be liable for rates and an annual service charge. Only established operators with relevant experience in running a “high turnover/peak time, Irish-themed and world-class operation” will be open for consideration, according to the agent.

Minimum trading hours are 9am-5pm from November to February; 8am-7pm in the months of March, April, September and October; and 8am-9pm from May to the end of August.

The 14km-long Cliffs of Moher attracted about 1.6 million visitors in 2018 and are one of the standout attractions of the Wild Atlantic Way.

Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre Ltd, a council subsidiary, opened the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience in 2007. Then taoiseach Bertie Ahern was on hand to formally unveil the €31.5 million facility which took almost two years to build after a long planning battle.

Adults are each charged €6 to access the cliffs and these funds are crucial to the retention of the 65 council jobs at the cliffs.

Tenders for the lease must be received by noon on March 6th.

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