DONNA AND MCALLEN, TEXAS — Houston-based brokerage firm Baker Katz has arranged two restaurant leases in South Texas for Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen. The first deal is for a 6,142-square-foot space in Donna, and the second deal is for a restaurant within Trenton North Shopping Center in McAllen. Brian Smith of Merit Commercial Real Estate represented the landlord in the Donna transaction, and Louie Tijernia of CBRE represented the landlord in the McAllen transaction. Jason Baker and Traci Holman of Baker Katz represented the parent company and operator, Orlando-based Darden Restaurants Inc. The openings are slated for the third and fourth quarter, respectively.
Restaurant
Hooters Files for Bankruptcy, Plans to Sell All Company-Owned Restaurants to Franchisees
by John Nelson
ATLANTA — HOA Restaurant Group, parent company of restaurant chain Hooters, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, entering into a Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) that will facilitate the continued operation of the company’s restaurants under new ownership. Hooters restaurants will continue to operate as usual throughout the bankruptcy process. A partnership between two existing Hooters franchisees, Hooters Inc. and Hoot Owl Restaurants, reached an agreement with Hooters of America (HOA) to acquire more than 100 HOA-owned Hooters restaurants, which, when added with the franchisees’ existing holdings, will account for approximately 70 percent of Hooters’ domestic locations. Upon completion of the Chapter 11 process, all Hooters locations will be franchisee-owned. Hooters Brand Management (HBM) will provide most of the franchise support for the company, including oversight of the national ad fund, the central purchasing organization and franchise development and support. North Point Mergers & Acquisitions represented the buying group, Hooters Inc. and Hoot Owl Restaurants, while Morrison & Foerster LLP is serving as their legal counsel.
PORTLAND AND EDINBURG, TEXAS — Houston-based brokerage firm Baker Katz has arranged two leases in South Texas for Olive Garden. The first deal is for a 7,805-square-foot restaurant in Portland, located outside of Corpus Christi, and the second deal is for a 7,825-square-foot space in the Rio Grande Valley city of Edinburg. Lynann Pinkham of Cravey Real Estate Services represented the landlord in the Portland transaction, and Ron Reimer of First Hartford Realty represented the landlord in the Edinburg transaction. Jason Baker and Traci Holman of Baker Katz represented the parent company and operator, Orlando-based Darden Restaurants Inc. The openings are slated for the second quarter of 2025 and sometime in 2026, respectively.
MCDONOUGH, GA. — Halpern Enterprises has completed a 6,486-square-foot, multi-tenant retail strip center located at 5905 E. Lake Parkway in McDonough, a southern suburb of Atlanta. The three-tenant property is part of the 20-acre North McDonough Village mixed-use development. The property features a 2,486-square-foot Starbucks Coffee with a drive-thru, a 2,000-square-foot available space and a 2,000-square-foot dentist’s office. Starbucks recently opened for business at the center on a 10-year lease. Brad Oppenheimer led the project on behalf of Halpern and secured the lease with Starbucks. Palmer Bayless of Emerge Real Estate Services represented Starbucks in the lease negotiations.
PEABODY, MASS. — Simon Property Group has completed the redevelopment of Northshore Mall, a shopping, dining and entertainment destination located north of Boston in Peabody. Among the new tenants that have either recently been announced or opened new stores/facilities at Northshore Mall are Life Time Fitness, which opened a 116,000-square-foot athletic resort with multiple pools and spa facilities, as well as Arhaus and L.L. Bean. Interactive gaming experience Immersive Gamebox is also now part of Northshore Mall’s lineup of entertainment users, as is Golf Lounge 18 and Gametime Lanes & Entertainment, which offers bowling and other games in addition to food and drink. Dick’s Sporting Goods will open a new store at the property in 2026 under its “House of Sport” brand, and construction is now underway on a 142-room hotel that will be operated under the Residence Inn by Marriott brand. Conventional retailers that have also recently joined the tenant roster include Lululemon, Hollister, It’Sugar and Sandmagination, while the food-and-beverage component now features the likes of Sweetgreen, Big Chicken and Honeygrow, with Vermont-based Skinny Pancake and ice cream chain Van Leeuwen scheduled to open in the coming weeks. Lastly, electric vehicle maker Tesla recently debuted a new showroom space …
GRANTS PASS, ORE. — A little over a month after unveiling its 1,000th retail location, drive-thru coffee chain Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE: BROS) is expanding its operations with goals to reach 2,029 shops by 2029. Originating in 1992 as a pushcart by the railroad tracks in downtown Grants Pass, Dutch Bros opened its first franchise in 2000. Dutch Bros Coffee now has a significant presence in the Pacific Northwest and is expanding with more locations across the United States, moving eastward to Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and Georgia. Looking further out, Dutch Bros sees potential for 7,000-plus locations nationwide, up from its original estimate of 4,000 shops. In 2025 alone, the company expects to open “at least” 160 new stores. The company recently hired former YUM! Brands executive Brian Cahoe as chief development officer to oversee the expansion strategy. The Dutch Bros management team recently provided updates on the business and its long-term growth goals at its Investor Day meeting last week. “We are pleased to deliver quarter-to-date first-quarter same-shop sales above our expectations, supported by positive traffic and strong business momentum,” says Christine Barone, CEO and president of Dutch Bros. Through March 24, same-store sales increased 4.6 percent in the …
NAPERVILLE, ILL. — The White Sheep, a breakfast and brunch restaurant, has signed a 5,424-square-foot lease to open a restaurant at 22 E. Chicago Ave. in Naperville. The space is located in the River District Shopping Center, adjacent to North Central College. The restaurant is slated to open in the second quarter. Rick Scardino of Lee & Associates represented the tenant. Brooke Spinell of Mid-America Real Estate Group and Tom Bernier of Bucksbaum Properties LLC represented the landlord, Bucksbaum Properties. The lease marks the second location for The White Sheep, which maintains a restaurant in Orland Park.
HOUSTON — Locally based operator Duckstache Hospitality has opened three new restaurants at Autry Park, a 14-acre mixed-use development located northwest of downtown Houston. Bar Doko and Doko are both Japanese concepts that total 66 seats and opened in late 2024 and February 2025, respectively. Annam is a French-Vietnamese restaurant that also opened in February. A partnership between Hanover Co. and Dallas-based retail owner-operator Rebees owns Autry Park.
EATONTOWN, N.J. — New York City-based Kushner Cos. has welcomed five food-and-beverage users and one retailer to Monmouth Square, a mixed-use redevelopment of the former Monmouth Mall in Eatontown. The tenants — Whole Foods Market, Prince Street Pizza, Cava, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, Offshore Coffee and STRONG Pilates — account for about 50,000 square feet of new leasing activity, which makes the project’s retail component 75 percent preleased. Bond RP represented Kushner in all negotiations.
First National Realty Partners Adds Burlington, Two Restaurants at Brandywine Crossing in Maryland
by John Nelson
BRANDYWINE, MD. — First National Realty Partners has signed three new tenants to join Brandywine Crossing, a 231,036-square-foot shopping center in Brandywine, a city roughly 27 miles from Washington, D.C. The new tenants at Brandywine Crossing include Burlington, which is backfilling a 25,310-square-foot space that previously housed Joann Fabric and Crafts, as well as Another Broken Egg Café and Buffalo Wild Wings Go. The new restaurants are set to open in the fourth quarter, and the Burlington store is expected to open in 2026. Brandywine Crossing sits on a 30-acre site and is anchored by a nearly 60,000-square-foot Safeway grocery store. Other existing tenants include Bonefish Grill, Panda Express, Marshalls, Advance Auto Parts, Truist Bank, Visionworks, Wells Fargo, AT&T and The UPS Store.
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