Art Gallery of Ballarat calls for new café proprietor 

An exciting hospitality opportunity exists to operate a café aligned to one Australia’s most significant public galleries, the Art Gallery of Ballarat. The Gallery, established in 1884, is the largest and oldest gallery in regional Australia.

To complement the operation of the Gallery, the City of Ballarat is seeking a café operator with style, flair and business acumen who can make the most of this unique opportunity to create a high-quality café experience.   

The café is situated in a unique heritage building and is aligned to one of Ballarat’s most popular visitor attractions which draws approximately 200,000 visitors per year.

The business would be visibly and conceptually associated with the Gallery, ensuring a steady flow of high-spending cultural tourists and loyal Gallery supporters while also catering for café-specific visitors.  

The café’s location in a majestic building on one of Ballarat’s most intact heritage streets ensures a high level of street appeal. This creates an opportunity to further grow clientele and establish the café as a beloved space in the Ballarat community.  

Gallery Director Louise Tegart said that the Gallery is excited by the opportunity to develop a partnership with a café proprietor.  

“For us, visitors are at the heart of everything the Gallery does, and a café plays a vital role in ensuring that visitors have an amazing experience at the Gallery, will return and recommend others to visit," Ms Tegart said.

“We would like to see a café owner who shares our vision for the Gallery as a place which is vibrant and engaging and which, while grounded in tradition, embraces contemporary style and diversity.”  

In addition to the café fronting Lydiard Street, an extensive commercial kitchen at the Camp Street side of the building can be used to support the delivery of catered social events at the Gallery.  

The Expressions of Interest period will close on Monday 27 February at 5pm.  

EOIs must be lodged electronically at www.eprocure.com.au/ballarat/ by the time and date specified. Late submissions will not be considered.