Bar Italia wants a buyer

It has had only a couple of owners since it opened in the 1950s, but Bar Italia - Leichhardt's unwavering home to "no skim, no soy, no light milk" - is on the market.

The Sydney coffee institution has had plenty of headlines over the years for its uncompromising approach and owner Peter Cama has a simple message for the new coffee world.

"They can go to a health shop; I've locked this place back in time, I want it to feel like walking into somewhere in Rome," he says.

It certainly hasn't harmed business, with daily queues out the door.

"If the next guy wants to change it, good luck to them," says Cama, who has run Bar Italia for 24 years.

When it finds a buyer, Cama says his next move is retirement. "Or I might join the Rolling Stones," he quips.