South Yarra sandwich hotspot March Mellow's digs up for grabs
It’s an itty bitty South Yarra sandwich shop doing a roaring trade from a glass fishbowl in “arguably Victoria’s most densely populated area outside the CBD”, and the micro-site has now been listed for $695,000 to $725,000.
The people behind March Mellow – the leaseholder specialising in elevated toasties – are “really, really bloody good at what they do,” says selling agent Danny Klotz of Morley Commercial.
Trade is going “gangbusters” at the inner-city Melbourne hotspot – 7a Claremont Street – along with another eatery the team runz on King Street in the CBD, he adds.
Toiling away in the 29-square-metre glass box adorned with cute, cool and colourful decals, the March Mellow crew is onto a good thing, being surrounded by high-density offices and residential and hotel accommodation, as well as benefiting from a current trend towards sandwich consumption.
“Sandwiches are having their moment – again! The humble sandwich is very much on trend in 2025, despite having an impressive 200+ year history,” Instagram account cultjar said recently.
South Yarra has a reputation as one of Melbourne’s ritziest suburbs. Just four kilometres from the CBD, it is characterised by high-end shopping, restaurants and nightlife, and its status is bolstered by top-notch schools, two train stations and beautiful green spaces.
Many of the workers in the area are mortgage-free, Klotz says, with plenty of disposable income.
“Kids are earning $75,000 to $120,000, and they’ve got money to buy sandwiches and coffee and beers,” he says.
This pint-sized property brings in $38,000 in rent annually. The lease is 3 + 3 years with fixed annual increases.
It has excellent foot and car traffic fronting Claremont Street, metres from Toorak Road, Chapel Street and South Yarra station. It captures the lunchtime market, taking office and work-from-home orders via Uber Eats and other platforms.
March Mellow specialises in melts, such as the spicy tuna, miso mushroom, salami and mozzarella, and smoothies. Its Google reviews attract an average of 4.8 stars.
Klotz says a number of interested parties vied for the keys when it hit the rental market.
“When we leased the property recently, we had a number of quality operators wanting the space with different concepts,” he says.
“The tenants loved the location because of all of the high-density development; there are people everywhere so they knew they could make it work.”
The property also boasts two on-site carparks and a simple fit-out that lends itself to different future operations.
“Future uses for a property like this are endless. It could be coffee, sushi, burgers, or anything hospitality,” Klotz says.
“On the flip side, it could also be a great small office or showroom for someone in the future.”
Klotz, who has a background in hospitality, says small properties in great locations can be great investments.
“The price point is generally low and the return is good,” he says. “Tenants love them too. They provide a low annual rental for tenants, and the tenant is not paying for space they don’t need. Also, due to the size, the outgoing charges are low.”
The average cost of a three-bedroom home in South Yarra is $2 million, according to Domain Insight data.
Recently, further up the east coast, a tiny eight-square-metre kiosk in Noosa Heads recently sold for $1.105 million after hitting the market for the first time in 20 years.
