Café shop lots for rent in KL and Selangor

A café sells the room as much as the coffee. The right ground-floor shop gives you a window people notice, a pleasant place to sit and a neighbourhood that comes back every morning. The wrong one leaves a beautiful fit-out empty after 11am.

• Frontage and light. A glass front on a street people actually walk along, ideally with a five-foot way or setback where a few alfresco tables can go. A unit facing the afternoon sun can make the front seats unusable, so check the orientation.
• Kitchen services. A coffee-only bar is simple. Once you bake, fry or serve brunch you need kitchen exhaust, a grease trap and proper water points. Ask whether the unit already has 3-phase power, because espresso machines, ovens and air conditioning running together add up fast.
• Parking. Morning regulars give you a few minutes. If they cannot park near the door, they buy their coffee elsewhere.
• Licences. Your business licence, signboard permit and any alfresco approval come from the council. Check the requirements with the local council (DBKL, MBPJ, MBSJ) before you sign rather than after.

• Bangsar Baru (Jalan Telawi): the classic café street in KL, with expatriates, young professionals and weekend brunch crowds. Visibility on Jalan Telawi itself is worth paying for.
• Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI): an affluent, loyal residential catchment with shaded streets and steady weekday and weekend trade.
• Damansara Uptown: office workers on weekdays and a busy food scene at night and on weekends.
• SS2 Petaling Jaya: a dense, established PJ township with all-day traffic and loyal families.

Based on the shop listings MCE tracks, most asking rents fall in these ranges each month:

• Bangsar Baru (Jalan Telawi): RM 18,000 to RM 25,000
• TTDI: RM 11,500 to RM 23,000
• Damansara Uptown: RM 10,500 to RM 17,000
• SS2 Petaling Jaya: RM 10,000 to RM 17,000

Size, corner position and the exact row move a unit up or down within these ranges. Compare units fairly with our rent per sq ft calculator instead of looking at the monthly figure alone.

1. Walk the street at 8am, 1pm and 8pm on a weekday and again at the weekend. Count the people who walk past the door, not the cars.
2. Confirm where the exhaust can run and whether the landlord and management allow it.
3. Ask for the existing power supply and water points in writing.
4. Check the council's position on alfresco seating in front of that unit.
5. Negotiate a rent-free fitting-out period, and read the renewal and reinstatement clauses carefully.

For more on choosing between PJ neighbourhoods, read best areas to open a café in Petaling Jaya.