Townsville hospitality market heats up with 20 venues up for grabs as sales surge
Around 20 cafes, bars and restaurants are currently up for grabs in Townsville as North Queensland records its busiest run of venue sales in decades.
Veteran business broker Susan Butler — who founded Beyond 2000 Business Sales in 2004 and rode out the pandemic downturn — says the last two years have delivered the strongest sales period for NQ hospitality businesses in more than twenty years.
A big driver has been interest from southern investors and buyers looking to relocate to regional centres, helping lift confidence and keep deals moving.
Butler said having more than 20 hospitality listings across the Townsville region was fairly normal given the number of venues operating locally, but the current appetite from buyers is turning heads.
Even with cost-of-living pressures squeezing consumer spending, she said established operators were still performing, while some newer entrants were finding the adjustment tougher.
Among the listings drawing attention are Le Chatz Cafe at The Avenues Plaza, priced at $60,000, and GYO Japanese Tapas Bar Restaurant in North Ward, listed for $75,000.
“Le Chatz (owner) has had that business since 2022. He is looking at moving away from Townsville with his family … anything under that $100,000 mark at the moment moves quite quickly,” Butler told the Townsville Bulletin.
“We’ve just put Coffee At Jude’s under contract last week and that was $110,000 so anything in that price range, people can just afford it and have a go.”
GYO, currently rated by TripAdvisor as Townsville’s eighth best restaurant (out of 455), has traded since 2009 from a sought-after Gregory St, North Ward spot — and Butler said plenty of enquiries are coming in from buyers considering a total concept change.
“There’s a lot of people are who inquiring about not even keeping it as a Japanese restaurant, wanting to put a bakery in there, ice cream shop, Chinese restaurant, or a Thai shop,” she said.
“It’s priced to move. I don’t think that (listing is) going to last longer than a week, to be honest. Which is good for the owner, who is keen to move on and retire.”
Local hospitality businesses for sale
- Le Chatz Cafe – $60k
- GYO Japanese Tapas Bar Restaurant – $75k
- Townsville Pizzeria Bar & Grill – $750k + stock
- The Beet Bar Cafe – $799k
- Kiosk On The Strand – $250k
- Kelso Fish Bar – $270k
- Riverway Snack Bar – $180k
- Restaurant Elsie Magnetic Island – $145k
- SOS (Stuffed on Seafood) Seafood Restaurant & Pancake House – $230k
- The Balcony Restaurant – $120k + stock
- Zambrero Fairfield Central – $150k + stock
- Zambrero Domain Central – $800k + stock
- Milk Espresso Cafe Willows – $350k
- Casa Pasta JCU Cafe – $120k
- Xpresso Mobile Coffee Van – $75k
- Summer Soul Thai – $39k
- Hellacool Creamery Dessert Bar – $145k (Bowen)
- Gold City Chinese Restaurant (Freehold) – $320k + stock (Burdekin)
Recently sold local hospitality businesses
A string of venues have also recently changed hands, including Pallarenda Bar & Bistro, Northern Aroma, Cafe Society Castletown, JAM Corner Restaurant, multiple Milk Espresso sites, Vitti Cafe On Gregory, and a mix of fish bars, coffee shops and eateries across the region.
Jonathan Jackson, 12th February 2026
