CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS — Whataburger, a Corpus Christi-based fast food burger chain, is opening its first metro Atlanta restaurants this year. The two locations will be situated at 705 Town Park Lane NW in Kennesaw and 9766 GA-92 in Woodstock. At its Kennesaw location, Whataburger plans to hire 180 employees, and to employ more than 1,400 employees in the metro Atlanta area restaurants by the end of 2023. In 2023, other Whataburger locations will open around metro Atlanta including at 503 Lakeland Plaza in Cumming; SEQ Buford Drive and Exchange Drive in Buford; 3321 Lexington Road in Athens; 3201 Atlanta Highway in Athens; 100 Pottery Road in Commerce; and 15 Wallace Blvd. in Dawsonville. Whataburger currently has one Georgia restaurant in Thomasville. The burger chain has over 880 locations across 14 states.
MELROSE PARK, ILL. — NewMark Merrill Cos. Inc. has sold a 90,000-square-foot building at Winston Plaza, a 400,000-square-foot shopping center in the Chicago suburb of Melrose Park. Cermak Fresh Market acquired the building for an undisclosed price and plans to open a new grocery store by the end of this year. Sandy Sigal and Brad Pearl represented NewMark Merrill on an internal basis alongside Joe Parrott and Sean McCourt of CBRE. Dino Geroulis and John Roberson of Axis Realty represented Cermak. Kostas Kavayiotidis of Pacific Southwest Realty structured financing. Anchor tenants at Winston Plaza include Best Buy, Ross Dress for Less, Marshalls, Dollar Tree, Five Below and Office Max.
DES PLAINES, ILL. — Marcus & Millichap has negotiated the sale of Bainbridge Plaza in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines for $2.1 million. The 15,042-square-foot retail center is located at 611 W. Golf Road and is fully leased. Anchor tenants include Domino’s Pizza and Suburban Family Dental, which has operated at the property for over 30 years. Mitchell Kiven of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a local private investor. Craig Fuller, Erin Patton and Scott Wiles of Marcus & Millichap represented the buyer, an Ohio-based limited liability company.
CARY, N.C. — JLL Capital Markets has arranged the sale of Twin Lakes Center, a multi-tenant shopping center in Cary anchored by Wegmans. Thomas Kolarczyk and Ryan Eklund of JLL represented the seller, Leyland Alliance. Dallas-based L&B Realty Advisors acquired the property on behalf of an institutional client. The sales price was not disclosed. Built in 2020, Twin Lakes Center was fully leased at the time of sale to tenants including Hollywood Feed, Great Clips, Mezeh Mediterranean Grill, Premier Martial Arts, PM Pediatrics, Paris Nail Bar, Bul Box and Gulli Boys. Situated on 1.7 acres at 1125 Hatches Pond Lane, Twin Lakes Center is situated 16.1 miles from Raleigh and 14.1 miles from Durham.
PALO ALTO AND MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. — Nuveen Real Estate has completed the disposition of Charleston Plaza, a five-building retail center in Palo Alto and Mountain View. San Francisco-based Presidio Bay acquired the asset for $71.8 million. Situated on 10.9 acres at 2400-2470 Charleston Road, Charleston Plaza features 132,590 square feet of retail space. Completed in 2006, the property features four big box retail buildings and one pad site. Key tenants include PetSmart, Starbucks Coffee and Chipotle. Will Connors, Daniel Renz and Michael Manas of the JLL Capital Markets team represented the seller and procured the buyer in the deal.
CAVE CREEK, ARIZ. — Phoenix Commercial Advisors has arranged the sale of The Shops at Dynamite Creek, a neighborhood retail center located at the entrance of Tatum Ranch master-planned community in Cave Creek. David Malin of Scottsdale Development Partners sold the asset to an undisclosed buyer for $21.9 million, or $315 per square foot. Located at 28242 N. Tatum Blvd., The Shops at Dynamite Creek features 69,755 square feet of retail space. At the time of sale, the property was 96 percent leased. Current tenants include Ace Hardware, RE/MAX, F45, State Farm Insurance, Honor Health and OrthoArizona. John Schweikert and Chad Tiedeman of Phoenix Commercial Advisors represented the seller in the transaction. Cameron Warren and Nick DeDona of Phoenix Commercial Advisors handled leasing at the property.
By Taylor Williams With the COVID-19 pandemic largely in society’s rearview mirror and warm weather months approaching, Americans are fired up to recoup lost time at their favorite restaurants, bars and entertainment venues. But the collision of this pent-up demand with 40-year inflationary highs means that many consumers are going to be more selective about where they eat, drink and source entertainment. To that end, meals, drinks, games and activities must offer a truly unique experience to justify consumer spending of their stretched dollars and to capture the Holy Grail of repeat spending/visits. That’s not to say that run-of-the-mill, traditional food and beverage (F&B) and entertainment concepts won’t rebound to some extent. But the concepts that deliver their offerings to customers in ways that are truly unique and memorable will be the ones that recognize the strongest sales growth and build the most enduring brand loyalties. Strategies, philosophies and exemplary practices that go into making this endeavor a reality were at the forefront of a panel discussion at the seventh-annual Entertainment Experience Evolution conference that took place in mid-March in Los Angeles. Hosted by Shopping Center Business, the flagship publication of Atlanta-based France Media Inc., the event drew more than …
ATLANTA — International fashion and leisure department retailer YOYOSO will open its first Atlanta store at Atlantic Station, a mixed-use destination in Atlanta’s West Midtown area that features over 30 stores and restaurants, entertainment, hotels and 700,000 square feet of Class A office space, including a new office tower anchored by Microsoft. Located at 260 18th St. NW, the 8,244-square-foot space will include both men’s and women’s apparel at affordable prices from over 600 suppliers across the globe. YOYOSO is set to open its doors this fall. YOYOSO was founded in 2014 by Huan MA in China and opened its first location in the United States in 2019 with a Miami Beach storefront. The fashion enterprise has since expanded to over 1,000 locations across 36 countries and over 380 cities. The Atlantic Station location will be open seven days a week, with grand opening plans to be announced soon. Atlantic Station has also welcomed other tenants recently to the property including Derek Automotive, an electric vehicle company. The landlord of Atlantic Station, Hines, also plans to add Rosé Bistro and Champagne Bar and Atlanta Breakfast Club later this year.
WOODLAND HILLS, CALIF. — Matthews Real Estate Investment Services has arranged the sale of a retail building located at 5780 Canoga Ave. in Woodland Hills. California-based Bolour Associates acquired the property from California-based Flamingo Investments for $9 million in an off-market transaction. Baja Fresh, Salad Farm and The Stand are tenants at the retail building. Kyle Pari and Michael Pakravan of Matthews Real Estate Investment Services represented the buyer and seller in the transaction.
CONROE, TEXAS — Locally based investment and management firm Vista Cos. has acquired Montgomery Crossing, a 70,000-square-foot retail center located about 45 miles north of Houston in Conroe. At the time of sale, the center was 70 percent leased to tenants such as Dollar Tree, The Toasted Yolk Café, Whataburger and Mattress Firm. Rob Kilcrease and Matt Berry of CBRE represented Vista Cos. in the deal. The seller was not disclosed. Veritex Bank provided acquisition financing to Vista Cos.