The Main Street cafe and lounge bar launched its soft opening in October last year after redeveloping the site into a two-storey mixed food services and residential build.

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Despite opening so recently, the cafe/lounge bar and one of the apartments below is now on the market for either lease or sale.

The Main Street project came together after more than $2 million in private investment from Derby resident Grant Kearney and his wife Luise Tyroller.

There is no condition requiring the current business to continue operating as is, meaning a new owner could relaunch a new operation once it has sold.

When it opened, the site was considered one of the first major developments to take place on the town's main strip since the launch of the Blue Derby Bike Trials in 2015 began bringing tourists and national attention to Derby.

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The 350-square-metre lot previously sold for just $10,000 in 2014, before being resold twice more for $95,000 and $155,000 in 2017 and 2019, respectively.

According to Justin Wiggins, one of the Knight Frank agents handling the sale, it was always the developers' intention to place the property on the market so soon after it opened.

"The developers thought Derby needed something else in terms of commercial food so they decided to invest and build it, but they never had long-term intentions of running it themselves," he said.

Mr Wiggins went on to describe the developers as "a couple passionate about Derby who want to continue to be part of the community in the future".

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Built into the town's sloping topography, the back of the lounge bar offers some of the best views available from the main strip, views that are likely to bring a big price tag if other properties on the street are any indication.

In August 2021, a derelict Main Street building nicknamed the 'crack house' sold at auction for $1.3 million. Six months later, a similar property which neighbours the Main Street cafe and bar for sale sold for nearly $1 million. Given the substantial development already undertaken at the Main Street cafe and bar, when the property sells, it will likely mark one of the most expensive in the town's history.

Expressions of interest close for 69 Main Street in Derby on Tuesday, July 26.

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