Chin Chin eyes Griffiths Teas building in Surry Hills

After a 12-month search for a Sydney home, Melbourne's hit restaurant Chin Chin is poised to finally pull the trigger on a local site.

Settling on Sydney's go-to postcode 2010, Chin Chin has moved on the historic Griffiths Teas building in Surry Hills.

The majestic warehouse, part of the Wakil family's vast Sydney property empire sell-off, was snapped up late last year for $22 million by Cornerstone Property Group.

Plans for the Wentworth Avenue property reportedly include New York-style apartments upstairs, while the restaurant would occupy space on street level, with an entrance on Commonwealth Street.

"It really is a beautiful building," Chin Chin owner Chris Lucas says.

It also fits with his wish list, the Melbourne restaurateur telling Good Food in April 2014 he was on the hunt for an old building to launch a Sydney restaurant later this year.

Lucas says there are still hurdles to finalising the deal, but confirmed he'd appointed an architect. There's also a neat synergy to the project.

The Griffiths Teas building was the Sydney outpost for a couple of ambitious Melbourne tea merchants, James and John Griffiths, keen to crack the harbour city.