Rents on Little Bourke Street, between Swanston and Elizabeth streets, have more than quadrupled since the Emporium shopping centre opened in 2014 and David Jones and Myer revamped their department stores.

David Jones now has its luxury handbag section fronting Little Bourke Street in direct competition with Emporium's Furla, Michael Kors and Kate Spade shops.

It's a marked contrast with the nature of the strip 20 years ago when cookwares shop Let's Cook first opened as House at 265 Little Bourke Street.

Myer's food hall and David Jones' homewares departments dominated the strip with everyday necessities such as stockings and sunglasses packing out the other side of the street.

Let's Cook has leased the 257 square metre space on Little Bourke Street since 1996. It is understood the shop has paid around $700-800 a square metre in rent whereas the shops across the road at Emporium are fetching between $3200 and $4500 a square metre.

CBRE head of retail leasing Zelman Ainsworth and Samantha Hunt will manage an international leasing campaign to find a new tenant for the space. There is also a potential 700 square metre basement currently used by The Swanston Hotel Grand Mercure which towers above the shop.

The Erdi Group, which operates the Swanston and six other hotels and other venues, is also the landlord.

Let's Cook's owner Carolyn Wilcox, who had yet to be officially notified about the lease, had battled through a long period of disruption and dust during the construction of Emporium.

"I've got first option on anything but real estate values have increased greatly on the street," Ms Wilcox said.

Mr Ainsworth said it was the first retail space to become available since the opening of Emporium and a new market rent had yet to be established.

"The owners are flexible about it being one shop or divided into three spaces and the basement could be used too," he said.