Hospitality guru John Forman of Grazeland fame’s new Preston venue Bar Mexico for sale a month after it opens
The relaxed eats guru behind Melbourne dining destination Grazeland’s latest venture, Bar Mexico, has been listed for sale.
John Forman, who swapped a 14-year stint at the helm of Eureka Skydeck for the Spotswood foodies haven and entertainment spot, paired with El Taco duo Nevan Hayek and Sandrow Yalda to launch the two-storey Preston eatery in June.
The already popular Bar Mexico was opened in a former shoe factory and is listed with expectations of a $3m sale.
RELATED: Grazeland’s El Taco team opens Hotel Mexico, Bar Mexico
Melbourne: Chef, TV presenter Scott Pickett offers a taste of Chancery Lane restaurant
From Elsternwick to Yarraville — Melbourne’s most undervalued suburbs revealed
Bar Mexico offers 50 varieties of tequila, mezcals and raicilla — all from Mexican distilleries.
Its menu also includes tacos stuffed with everything from pulled pork and beef to prawns, fish and cauliflower.
Colliers’ Ryan Milivojac is selling the 537sq m site at 39 High St and said if the right price emerged he would shout the buyer a tequila and taco himself.
Mr Milivojac noted that selling a property immediately after a well-regarded new tenant had been locked in would appeal to investors looking for a reliable income site.
“And John has said that bookings Wednesday through Saturday are filling the place up,” Mr Milivojac said.
The reputation and pedigree Mr Forman brings to the new restaurant will also be on investors’ minds, with the hospitality expert having in the past arranged Eureka stunts — from a sky-high tightrope walk — to superheroes scaling the formerly tallest tower in Melbourne.
He also established Grazeland, a 50-vendor food park in Spotswood, which has proven a major success since launching in 2021.
Nevan Hayek and Sandrow Yalda run El Taco at Grazeland, which sells thousands of tacos a day, and are attached to two new restaurant-bar projects, including Bar Mexico and Hotel Mexico — set in Yarraville’s former The Mersh pub — which is expected to open next month.
Mr Milivojac added that while High St had long been a successful investment precinct from Westgarth to Thornbury, the Preston corridor was now firing up.
He said he was expecting hyperlocal interest from investors living within a 4km radius, though a good yield could attract prospective buyers from across the city.
Bar Mexico is signed up for three years at $150,000 a year, with a 3 per cent fixed annual increase.
The venue at 39 High St, Preston, goes to auction at 12.30pm on August 21.
Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.
MORE: ‘Will be buying heavily’: Aussies told to prepare
Victoria snow homes: Chalets across Mount Buller, Mt Hotham and Falls Creek for sale
Toorak: Son of UK billionaire offloads penthouse for eight-figure sum