WHEN Nick Favos started working at the Darby Street restaurant Hawaiian Steakhouse in 1983, he could never have known how long and entwined his life would become with the Cooks Hill terrace that houses it.
But after a long association as the restaurant's owner, landlord and then restaurant owner once again he has put up the for sale sign of the 1850s-era terrace in a prime position on the popular eat street.
"In a lot of ways I know that I am going to miss it, but I feel like the place needs new energy and new blood," Mr Favos said of this decision to sell.
The property, currently trading as Terrace on Darby, at 171 Darby Street, Cooks Hill is for sale by public auction with a price guide of $1.9 million.
Listed with Ben Robinson at Colliers, the property offers 275 square metres of internal space and 25 square metres of undercover outdoor balcony.
The sale also includes an on-premise PSA liquor license, a secure car space and an office at the rear.
"We are excited by the opportunity to present this unique and well-renowned asset to the market," Mr Robinson said.
"The sale includes a rare PSA liquor license and internal infrastructure and given the blue-chip location of the offering, we are anticipating strong interest from a wide variety of local, Sydney and national operators.
"We are also not discounting the fact a purchaser may look to reposition the asset into a commercial or medical use which is easily adaptable given the flexible B4 Mixed zone."
The building, which dates back to 1854, was last sold in 1995 for $245,000, according to CoreLogic.
Owner Nick Favos has a long history with the building.
He began working in its restaurant, then known as Hawaiian Steakhouse, in 1983 and purchased the business three years later when he was 22.
In 1995, he bought the two-storey terrace building and changed the restaurant's name to Hawaiian Sunsets.
"It has been a restaurant since 1974 and was first licensed in 1997," he said.
"Back then I believe it was called Trisha's Fishes and then it changed to Oyster Steakhouse and then it was the Hawaiian Steakhouse which was run by Ivan Welsh who was the mayor of Lake Macquarie."
After closing the restaurant in 2003, the space was leased out to various hospitality operators until 2021 when Mr Favos undertook a 10-month renovation and refurbishment of the property to re-open it as Terrace On Darby.
The building's history dates back to 1854.
"It started off its life in around the 1870s at The Hibernian Hotel and then in the 1880s it became The Imperial Hotel," he said.
"It was a bakehouse at one stage, a butcher shop and they had accommodation as well.
"In around the 1930s or 40s, it was two separate terrace houses, so it has had many different lives. It was two terrace houses until the 1970s when it was converted into a restaurant."
The property will go to auction on April 30.
Mr Favos said the property was ready for "new blood".
"It's just time for a new chapter for me," he said.
