Shepparton Art Museum (SAM)’s new purpose-built art museum offers an exciting new hospitality opportunity in north-central Victoria to operate a café, a separate rooftop bar and multifunction area. SAM is one of Australia’s leading art museums located in Greater Shepparton, recognised for its ceramics and Indigenous art collections and engagement programs. The new building has been designed by internationally renowned Australian architects Denton Corker Marshall.

SAM’s purpose is to create a community space that enriches people’s lives through creative arts and cultural experiences. SAM will be a meeting place for the Greater Shepparton Community, providing captivating creative arts and cultural experiences that showcase and celebrate Aboriginal art and culture and engage and connect the diverse communities of Greater Shepparton with one another and the world. SAM brings people to Shepparton and contributes creatively, culturally and economically to the Greater Shepparton community.

SAM Limited (The Landlord) is seeking to partner with an experienced and entrepreneurial hospitality operator (The Tenant) to deliver an exceptional and mutually beneficial café and bar experience to museum and other visitors. SAM is seeking a café operator with style, flair and business acumen who can maximise this rare and unique opportunity to create a high-quality café and bar experience that complements and enhances the visitor experience offered at SAM.

The café and roof top bar are located in central positions in the new purpose-built SAM building designed by DCM. The café and fully furnished kitchen are on Level 1 with an adjoint deck/grass area and is accessible through the building and the grass area leading to the walking path at the lake. The roof top bar and multifunction area are on the Level 4, with a roof top viewing deck. The café and the bar must be conceptually sympathetic with SAM, ensuring a steady flow of cultural visitors and tourists.

The building is located on the south-eastern corner of Victoria Park Lake, adjoining lake wetlands and river redgum forest. With entrances from both Wyndham Street and directly off Victoria Park, SAM will be a prime destination drawing in significant foot traffic and hence ensuring a consistent and high-volume patronage. The original business case predicated 100,000 visitors per year visitation to the building. However, with current COVID-19 restrictions the numbers will likely be lower the first couple of years.

This invitation is seeking expressions of interest from hospitality operators to operate the café on Level 1, the roof top bar on level 4, and catering opportunities, including provision of Liquor Licencing across the site.

SAM acknowledges and respects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the Traditional Owners of the land and their culture and knowledge and caring for Country. We welcome opportunities to partner with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to improve outcomes for people within their communities and the community more broadly.