Changes ahead for Sydney institution the Chefs' Warehouse

Chefs' Warehouse has survived a fire, an explosion in a neighbouring building that blew out its windows and plenty of chef expletives, but after a 38-year-run Christopher Hazell and business partner David Furley will pull the pin on their involvement in the Sydney food institution at the end of this year. "The time has come to retire," Hazell says.

The Surry Hills business has always been a place to star-spot celebrity chefs. Hazell remembers a young "and dare I say good looking" Neil Perry coming in to buy plates for one of his early ventures, and he can recount the timeline which saw Sydney move from colourful to white plates. The duo has always tried to hold out against needless kitchen clutter, only recently giving way to customer demand and stocking egg separators. "We've sold the building and the new owner wants vacant possession," he explains.

Hopefully Chefs' Warehouse won't be lost to Sydney, the business is for sale through restaurant broker Michael Fischer. "They'll have to move it to a new building, but we've already had lots of interest," Hazell adds.