CHICAGO — CBRE has negotiated five new retail leases for QDOBA Mexican Eats in the suburbs of Chicago. The locations are in Vernon Hills, Wheaton, Downers Grove, Bloomingdale and Elmhurst. CBRE’s Phillip Golding represented the fast-casual restaurant. The 2,000-square-foot location at 700 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Vernon Hills is within The Marketplace at Vernon Hills, a retail center owned by Kimco Realty. Danada Square West in Wheaton is a grocery-anchored center owned by DLC. The 2,000-square-foot location in Downers Grove is within a property owned by Vic Mehta. LFI is the landlord for the Bloomingdale and Elmhurst properties. Holy Moley Guacamole is the franchise business for the new locations.
CHICAGO — The Boulder Group has brokered the $2.6 million sale of a single-tenant restaurant property occupied by Chipotle at 2935 W. Peterson Ave. in Chicago. The 2,160-square-foot building is situated near The Home Depot, Mather High School and Lincoln Village Shopping Center. Randy Blankstein and Jimmy Goodman of Boulder Group represented the seller, a Midwest-based real estate investor, and the buyer, a Southwest-based real estate investment fund. Chipotle has a 20-year lease at the property.
OXNARD, CALIF. — Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors has brokered the sale of a single-tenant restaurant property at 711 Town Center Drive in Oxnard. A Texas-based developer sold the asset to a Northern California-based private 1031 exchange investor for $7.2 million. Sean Cox, Jeff Lefko and Bill Asher of Hanley Investment Group represented the seller, while Judson Kauffman of New York-based Surmount represented the buyer in the deal. Shake Shack occupies the 3,286-square-foot property, which was built in 2025, under a new 15-year corporate-guaranteed absolute triple-net ground lease. The building features Shake Shack’s latest prototype with a double-lane drive-thru. Shake Shack operates more than 570 locations across 34 states and over 200 international markets as of third-quarter 2025. The company opened 43 company-operated stores in fiscal-year 2024, marking its highest annual expansion to date.
— By Jacob Pavlik of Colliers — As big-box retailers scale back or exit the market, a new class of tenants is reshaping the retail landscape across the Puget Sound region. Experiential retail is taking their space and providing destinations for consumers and the experiences they crave. This umbrella term includes concepts that prioritize interaction, entertainment and social connection. This is emerging as a compelling solution for landlords looking to drive foot traffic and re-energize shopping centers. The shift is not accidental. The pandemic disrupted traditional social experiences and accelerated the decline of large-format retail by getting people more accustomed to buying online, even if they “picked up” the item later in a store. Now, with consumers eager to reconnect in person, experiential concepts have gained traction. These tenants often don’t sell goods or services in the conventional sense. Instead, they offer immersive experiences that encourage group participation and repeat visits. Recent examples include Mirra, a 12,000-square-foot social entertainment venue that opened in Bellevue’s Lincoln Square, a mixed-use shopping center with three hotels, and more than 1.2 million square feet of office space. Adjacent to Cinemark Reserve in the South Tower, Mirra offers immersive virtual reality party games and transitions to …
Louisville’s retail market continues to show strength in 2025, with grocery anchors driving much of the momentum. Despite national headwinds such as moderating rent growth and elevated construction costs, the metro has proven resilient, posting a vacancy rate of just 3.5 percent, outperforming the national benchmark of 4.8 percent, according to CoStar Group. Asking rents averaged $17.42 per square foot, reflecting steady demand across the region. At the center of this activity are grocers like Kroger, Publix and BJ’s Wholesale Club, each reshaping Louisville’s retail landscape in unique ways. Kroger is deepening its footprint with multiple new stores, including a 123,000-square-foot location under construction on Beulah Church Road that is scheduled to open in 2026. Publix, one of the most closely watched entrants to the Kentucky market, has expanded aggressively after opening its first store, securing 60,000 square feet at Blankenbaker Plaza and 56,000 square feet at Prospect Point. BJ’s Wholesale Club has adopted a redevelopment approach, razing the former Sears building at Jefferson Mall to deliver a 104,000-square-foot store that opened earlier this year. Collectively, these projects underscore the draw of essential, needs-based retail while fueling complementary leasing activity in their surrounding trade areas. Concepts gaining ground That momentum …
FRANKLIN, TENN. — A joint venture between Boyle Investment Co., Northwood Investors and Northwood Ravin has opened Block E, a new 300,000-square-foot mixed-use building in Franklin, a city in Nashville’s Cool Springs district. The nine-story, $125 million property is one of the anchors of the McEwen Northside mixed-use development. Block E features a modern training room, full-service fitness center, offices, ground-level retail space and a parking garage. Office tenants include TMPartners PLLC, also the project’s architect, and Designed Conveyor Systems, a supply chain company. Retail tenants include Culinary Dropout, Oak Hall and Hawkers Asian Street Food. In addition to TMPartners, the design-build team includes civil engineer Kimley-Horn and general contractor Hoar Construction. Northwestern Mutual partnered with Boyle Investment, Northwood Investors and Northwood Ravin on the project.
ATLANTA — Locally based 26th Street Partners has acquired Krog Street Market, a 30,000-square-foot adaptive reuse food hall and market in Atlanta’s Inman Park district, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Charlotte-based Asana Partners sold the property, along with the adjacent Atlanta Stove Works, SPX Alley and Butler and Gravel buildings. The sales price was not reported, but Asana purchased the Krog District buildings in 2018 for $45.8 million. Paces Properties originally redeveloped the 1920s-era warehouse that was also formerly used as the home of Tyler Perry Studios into Krog Street Market in 2014. The property’s tenant roster includes Hop City, Fred’s Meat & Bread, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Superica, Ticonderoga Club, The Collective and The Merchant. Additionally, Patagonia has a large store at Krog District and Yeti will soon open a shop at the property, according to the Chronicle.
ATLANTA — Burger chain Shake Shack has signed a long-term lease for a new 3,010-square-foot restaurant at Centennial Yards, a $5 billion mixed-use development underway in downtown Atlanta. CIM Group and affiliate Centennial Yards Co. are transforming the 50-acre site that was locally known as the Gulch into a high-end entertainment and hospitality destination near Mercedes-Benz Stadium (home of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United) and State Farm Arena (home of the Atlanta Hawks). The restaurant will be Shake Shack’s first location in downtown Atlanta and is expected to open next year. Other previously announced tenants joining Centennial Yards include a 5,300-square-foot Live Nation entertainment venue and Cosm, an immersive experiential sports and entertainment operator. Other food-and-beverage options include the Wild Leap brewery and Khao Thai Isan, a Thai tapas concept within The Mitchell residential tower. Shake Shack has previously announced plans to open a restaurant in another sports and entertainment district in Atlanta: The Battery, where it will backfill Wahlburger’s.
STONE MOUNTAIN, GA. — Netherworld Haunted House has opened in Stone Mountain for its 29th season of operation. Situated at 1313 Netherworld Way on the outskirts of Stone Mountain Park, Netherworld comprises a rotation of haunted experiences, with this year’s themes including “Monster’s Attack” and “Oblivion: Return of the Mangler,” the latter of which features a “haunt within a haunt” called “Grendel’s Feast.” Beyond the self-guided haunted attractions, Netherworld features a carnival-style courtyard called Halloween Midway that features concessions, seating areas, a gift shop, interactive games, Halloween-themed décor and photo opportunities, as well as meet and greets with some of the park’s horror characters. Additionally, the park offers five year-round escape rooms and the House of Creeps Monster Museum, which displays props, artifacts and memorabilia used in horror and science fiction movies and TV shows. Netherworld first opened in 1997 off Jimmy Carter Boulevard before relocating to its 10-acre Stone Mountain complex in 2017.
SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. — Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors has arranged the sale of a single-tenant retail property located at 402 N. Milpas St. in Santa Barbara. A Los Angeles-based developer sold the asset to a San Francisco-based 1031 exchange investor for $3.7 million. Sean Cox and Bill Asher of Hanley Investment Group represented the seller, while the buyer was self-represented. The 2,149-square-foot Starbucks Coffee location, which opened in April, features the company’s new café-only prototype design.
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