Clare Valley restaurant Seed for sale with $2.2m price hopes

Iconic Clare Valley restaurant Seed has been listed for sale on a walk-in walk-out basis as its owner looks to pursue other opportunities.

Seed, at 268 Main North Rd, Clare, is the only rooftop bar in the Clare Valley and has attracted a strong clientele since opening in 2014.

The restaurant, in what was formerly the Commonwealth Bank building, was renovated in 2021 to include the rooftop bar, as well as a bistro and deli.

Just two years later, it fell victim to Covid, with rising costs and staff shortages forcing it into voluntary liquidation.

It was then acquired by the current owner, said selling agent Mark O’Meagher, of Ray White Clare Valley.

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The popular restaurant and rooftop bar is on the market with $2.2m price hopes.

The Advertiser once described the venue as a “top-notch bistro and rooftop bar that is a game-changer for a regional town.”

So far, interest in the sale has mainly come from interstate investors wanting to explore opportunities to lease the building to other business ventures but Mr O’Meagher said it was hoped the eventual buyer would continue with the restaurant enterprise on an owner-operator basis.

“That would be the dream – that someone had the vision to put their own footprint on the building and run something similar, or the same, to what it is now,’’ he said.

“It’s very popular. It’s the only rooftop bar (in the Clare Valley) and if you say Seed everyone in the valley knows what you are talking about.

“It has a very solid clientele and…all the locals would want to see (new owners) run it in a similar way (to its current offerings) with the bar.

“It’s really the uniqueness of it for our community (that makes it a drawcard). People right down to Auburn would eat here.’’

Interest in the property, so far, has come from investors.

However, the hope is to see it continued.

Located in the main street of Clare, in the heart of the Clare Valley’s wine and tourist region,

Mr O’Meagher said the restaurant, which was well-known for its takeaway pizzas, operated six days a week during the summer months, with live music often played.

Opening hours were reduced in winter, said Mr O’Meagher, who was unable to provide details of generated income.

The Advertiser once described the venue as a “top-notch bistro and rooftop bar that is a

game-changer for a regional town’’.

Mr O’Meagher said there was “no real reason’’ for the sale, other than the vendor wishing to pursue “other opportunities in his life’’.

“It’s just time for him to move on,’’ he said.

He said all fixed plant and equipment was included in the sale of the restaurant, which is listed with a price guide of $2.2m, plus GST.