Popular Worthing café put up for sale: ‘Significant interest’ from buyers expected

Rob and Tony Sallis-Prokopiou have run NRG Cavern, in Bath Place, since 2018. Once a new owner for the business is found, they want to move back to their former home in Moseley, Birmingham, and semi-retire, while taking on part-time HR roles.

In 2019 NRG Cavern, which specialises in high-quality, healthy food, was awarded a Certificate of Excellence by Trip Advisor, which it has retained since then. In 2020 it received a Trip Advisor Travellers’ Choice Award for Quality Food and Excellent Service, placing it in the top ten per cent of restaurants worldwide.

Callum Pollard, customer service executive at Blacks Business Brokers which is marketing the property, said, “Rob and Tony have hit on a winning formula with NRG Cavern, and this is a great opportunity for an enterprising new owner to come in and build on their success.

“In particular, they could extend the opening hours – the current owners have run a number of very successful themed evening events, demonstrating that the demand exists for evening opening.

“NRG Cavern is also available for hire for private events, and a new owner could expand this element of the business further as an additional source of revenue. All-in-all, this is a fantastic business in an exceptional location, and I expect significant interest now that the word it out that it is up for sale.”

The guide price is £97,500 to take over the leasehold business, plus an annual rent of £15,496.

NRG Cavern was established in 2016. The asking price includes Otium A&R Ltd, the operating company through which the current owners run the business.

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The café, which has seating indoors for 23 customers and can accommodate a further 15 on its outdoor terrace, is open from 10am to 5pm six day per week. It specialises in high-quality breakfasts, brunches, lunches, salads, sandwiches and cakes.

According to its owners, the vision behind NRG Cavern is to offer something for everyone, with menus that are changed seasonally to make the most of freshly available produce. Its menus include an extensive range of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes, as well as meat-based options.

In 2021 it also received a Best Café badge from Restaurant Guru in recognition of the quality of its homemade cakes and the establishment’s large number of positive customer reviews.

Rob trained as a chef in his 20s, and owned his own café in London during the 1980s before changing career and working as an HR Consultant. Tony worked as a senior manager in the Civil Service for 34 years and had a career as a senior manager, mostly based in HR, before the pair acquired NRG Cavern in 2018.

The business, which turned over in excess of £112,000 in its last full financial year, has strong relationships with a number of local suppliers. These include Edgcumbes Coffee Roasters & Tea Merchants, based in Ford, and Ringden Farm in Etchingham, which supplies its award-winning apple juices to the café.

All enquiries should be directed to Blacks Business Brokers on 0333 370 0000, quoting reference 7669.

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