Bewley's claims its Grafton Street cafe is due €1m refund for overpaid rent

Ray Managh

"Legendary" Dublin cafe Bewley’s claims it is due a €1 million refund on overpaid rent after a judge’s readjustment of the lease on its Grafton Street premises.

Judge Jennifer O’Brien, in a reserved judgment in the Circuit Civil Court on Friday, set a new rent between Bewley's and its landlord, RGRE Grafton Limited, at just over €713,000.

In reaching her decision she quoted James Joyce who had described the premises as a “legendary, lofty, clattery cafe” imbued with conversations and memories and with an exquisite interior and an Egyptian shopfront.

"How do you put a price on that?," Judge O’Brien said, before proceeding to outline a 31-page judgment in which she decided the new rent.

She said in June it had been agreed Bewley’s was entitled to a new tenancy and the issue before the court was to determine the level of new rent.

Judge O’Brien said Bewley’s had decided to take a five-year term at a rent to be decided by the court and the landlord had filed a defence in which it denied Bewley’s had made improvements that had increased the value of the property.

The court had heard evidence of existing rents for similar nearby premises from leading experts on behalf of both parties.

However, Judge O’Brien said the unique character of Bewley’s cafe, a protected structure inside and out, highlighted the limitations of comparative rents.

“A willing tenant and a willing landlord would not treat the rear part of the ground floor, a very special dining space surrounded by beautiful stained glass windows, as merely storage or utility space,” she said.

She said the court agreed with the proposition by the landlord that an uplift in rent was due because of the short duration of the lease.

In a statement issued after Judge O’Brien’s decision, Bewley's managing director Col Campbell said the cafe, which he said was buzzing at the moment, now looked forward to implementing exciting new plans for the restaurant.