Iconic Lorne beachside cafe Arab Coffee Lounge for sale

A Great Ocean Road coffee lounge credited with turning Lorne from a daggy family holiday spot to a hip destination has hit the market after closing last year.

Originally modelled on a European coffee bar when it opened in 1956, the Arab’s espresso machine was reportedly the third installed in a Victorian coffee lounge.

Travel website Lonely Planet wrote that the Arab started as a beatnik coffee lounge and single-handedly transformed Lorne from a daggy family-holiday destination into a place for groovers and shakers.

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The Arab was a favourite stop for motorcycle enthusiasts on the Great Ocean Road.

It could be said that Lorne hasn’t looked back since, with the Arab becoming an institution for generations of weary travellers.

But the demise of the coffee institution was also written in the travel guide, which continued: “while it’s lost its edge, it still hits the spot for coffee, all-day breakfasts and international cuisine”.

Smyth, Lorne agent David Baldry says it was sad to see the Arab closed before Christmas in 2017.

Reading, writing, eating, drinking … all on the floor at The Arab, where you’ll find young holiday-makers at Lorne snatching a little off-the-beach relaxation in a 1960 image from The
Herald.

He says buyers could resurrect the favourite coffee stop for generations who continued to offer their two cents on travel review sites before it closed.

The freehold to the restaurant and three-bedroom apartment above is selling for the first time in more than 62 years.

Price hopes are $2.5 million for the property at 94 Mountjoy Parade.

The Arab has been a part of the Lorne foreshore since the 1950s.

It has two titles, with front and rear access, and all the chattels from the restaurant come with the property.

The apartment has an open-plan design with polished floorboards leading to a large front balcony.

Baldry says a third storey could be added, subject to council approval.

This article from the Geelong Advertiser first appeared as “Home of Lorne’s famed Arab Coffee Lounge hits the market”.