ATHENS, GA. AND NEW YORK — Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division has agreed to purchase a “significant stake” in Athens-based Zaxby’s, with plans to grow the quick-service restaurant chain’s footprint into new markets. Terms of the financing were not disclosed, but the deal is expected to close by the end of 2020. Zaxby’s, known for its chicken fingers, wings and signature sauces, has more than 900 locations in 17 states, primarily in the Southeast. Zaxby’s is a privately held company that childhood friends Zach McLeroy and Tony Townley founded in Statesboro, Ga., in 1990. The founders hope the investment from Goldman Sachs will grow the regional chain into a national brand. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Stephens Inc. served as financial advisors to Zaxby’s. King & Spalding LLP and Fortson, Bentley and Griffin P.A. served as legal advisors to Zaxby’s. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP served as legal advisor and Goldman Sachs served as financial advisor to Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking.
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Developer/Owners/Investors Panel: (Clockwise from top left) Chris Hake, Thompson Thrift; Jenny Redlin, Partner Engineering and Science, Inc.; Joshua Simon, SimonCRE; Jim Pederson, Pederson Group (joining by phone); Mike Kallner, RED Development; Judi Butterworth, Orion Investment Real Estate. The “Phoenix Retail Outlook — How is the Phoenix Market Responding to COVID-19?” webinar, hosted by Shopping Center Business and Western Real Estate Business, covers the impacts of COVID-19 and how retail experts are bringing creativity to challenging situations. Learn what retailers, restaurant owners and developers need to thrive, plus what our panelists anticipate for retail in the near future. See a list of some topics covered below: How are Phoenix area retailers, restaurants and developers adapting to the COVID-19 environment? What do they need to succeed? How will Phoenix retail rents and property values be impacted? What are the predictions for retail vacancy rates in the coming year? What will be the impact on new development in the near term? What do retailers and retail property owners need to consider to position themselves for recovery? What opportunities do Phoenix retail tenants, developers investors see in a post-pandemic market? Developer/Owners/Investors Panelists: Chris Hake, Thompson Thrift Jenny Redlin, Partner Engineering and Science, Inc. Joshua Simon, SimonCRE Jim Pederson, Pederson Group Mike …
SANTA CLARA, CALIF. — Despite shelter-in-place mandates and temporary closures due to COVID-19, Westfield US has opened 42 stores and restaurants this year at Westfield Valley Fair, a 2.2 million-square-foot Bay Area shopping and lifestyle destination located at 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd. in Santa Clara. Twenty-two of the new tenants have opened since March, with 15 new retail and restaurant leases signed and foot traffic increasing more than 10 percent week-over-week since the center reopened in for retail operations in June. New tenants and milestones include: The completion of an expanded Luxury Collection that now features more than 45 retailers, including Bvlgari, Golden Goose, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Montblanc, Tiffany & Co. and Versace. Additionally, Christian Louboutin and Panerai have signed leases to join the collection in the near future. The openings of a flagship Apple store, Lucid Studio from Lucid Motors, Peloton, AESOP, Zadig & Voltaire, Sandro, Maje and Anne Fontaine. New tenants for The Digital District including Tempo and Brik + Clik, Capital One Café, Polestar, Reiss and Dr. Martens. A revitalized Restaurant Collection with expanded outdoor dining options and new restaurants, including the first Northern California location of King’s Fish House, Shake Shack, Silicon Valley’s first Salt & …
San Diego City Council Approves $1.4B Transformation of Tailgate Park Outside Padres Stadium
by Amy Works
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego City Council has unanimously approved an exclusive negotiating agreement with the Padres Development Team to negotiate terms for the previously announced acquisition and redevelopment of Tailgate Park into East Village Quarter. The site is located outside Petco Park, which Major League Baseball’s San Diego Padres call home. The Padres Development Team, including the San Diego Padres, Tishman Speyer and Ascendant Capital Partners, was selected during a public request for proposals process. The development team’s vision for East Village Quarter includes residential space, 50,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail, 236,000 square feet of public spaces, 1.4 million square feet of office space targeted to technology and biotechnology companies, and 1,600 parking spaces. According to media reports, the development will cost $1.4 billion. “We are excited to take another step forward to revitalize Tailgate Park and further transform the Ballpark District and downtown San Diego,” says Erik Greupner, president of business operations for the San Diego Padres. “We look forward to finalizing a deal with the City of San Diego that will result in the creation of a vibrant, inclusive, mixed-use district in East Village.”
Chipotle Plans to Open First Digital Restaurant as Online Sales Tripled in Third Quarter
by Jeff Shaw
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. — Chipotle Mexican Grill plans to launch a digital restaurant concept dubbed Chipotle Digital Kitchen. Customers will be required to order in advance via the Chipotle app, website or third-party delivery service; there will not be a dining area or line to order food. The Newport Beach-based restaurant chain says the footprint is designed for urban areas but will open its first location near West Point Academy in Highland Falls, New York, on Saturday, Nov. 14. The announcement of the restaurant opening comes on the heels of the company’s third-quarter earnings report, which showed Chipotle’s digital sales tripled year-over-year. Furthermore, online sales accounted for nearly half (48.8 percent) of total sales for the quarter, which ended Sept. 30.
Colliers: Miami-Dade’s Retail Market Posts Net Negative Absorption, Rent Declines in Third Quarter
by John Nelson
MIAMI — Miami-Dade County’s retail market posted 120,934 square feet of negative net absorption in the third quarter, according to research from Colliers International. The decline is a sizable improvement from the second quarter, a period where the market gave back 230,698 square feet of retail space. Year-to-date absorption remains positive for Miami-Dade County at 883,859 square feet. Despite the negative absorption in the third quarter, vacancy only dipped 20 basis points from the previous quarter. The negative absorption in Miami-Dade County, as well as retail markets around the country, has a direct correlation with the recession-inducing COVID-19 pandemic, which has accelerated the trend of consumer spending habits to more e-commerce shopping. The list of retailers closing big boxes in the market include national brands such as Stein Mart, Neiman Marcus, Chuck E. Cheese’s, 24 Hour Fitness, JC Penney, CMX Cinemas, Pier 1 Imports, Bloomingdales, Lucky’s Market, Sears, Sur La Table and Justice. Tenants opening in the market in the third quarter included Publix, Hobby Lobby, Five Below and AT&T, among others. Amped Fitness and Happy Floors are boutique concepts that signed leases this past quarter. Rents continued to decline in Miami-Dade’s shopping centers in the third quarter. Average rental …
Wonderful Real Estate Begins Construction of Amenity, Training Center at Industrial Park in Shafter, California
by Amy Works
SHAFTER, CALIF. — Wonderful Real Estate Development has started construction of a new corporate office building, conference center, wellness center, amenity center and vocational school at Wonderful Industrial Park (WIP) in Shafter. Spanning 98,000 square feet, the logistics park is slated for completion in first-quarter 2022. The development will include a 61,000-square-foot corporate office component, a 37,200-square-foot vocational training center and an 8,500-square-foot restaurant café space. The corporate office space will be home to more than 200 Central Valley employees, including those working for Wonderful Citrus, Wonderful Pistachios and Almonds, Suterra, Pom Wonderful and Wonderful Real Estate Development. Additionally, the office space will provide large meeting rooms that will be available to companies within WIP and the community at-large. The development’s Wonderful Wellness Center will include a gym, exercise classes, healthy awareness programs and access to a mobile clinic. In addition to Wonderful Company’s developments, Walmart Inc. is nearing the completion of a 630,000-square-foot distribution facility at WIP. The highly automated property is optimized for handling, packaging and shipping food. The facility is located on 65 acres that Walmart acquired from WIP in 2018. The facility is slated to be fully operational by spring 2021.
The Houston Retail Outlook— How is the Houston Market Responding to the Pandemic? webinar, hosted by Shopping Center Business and Texas Real Estate Business, covers the impacts of COVID-19 and how retail experts are bringing creativity to challenging situations. Houston boasts a dynamic retail and restaurant scene that has been a requisite landing spot for new shopping, dining and entertainment users over the last few years. With a plethora of new mixed-use destinations in development or coming on line, can the market continue to absorb the new retail space despite pandemic-related restrictions and reduced occupancies? See a list of some topics covered below: What initiatives have retail landlords and operators taken to mitigate the disruption brought on by COVID-19? What is the outlook in terms of leasing for the Houston market over the next six months? What kinds of retail deals are capital sources targeting right now, and what is the Houston market seeing in terms of deal velocity and volume? How will broader expectations for the Houston economy impact the performance of the retail market in the coming months? Panelists: Jake Donaldson (moderator), Method Architecture Emily Durham, Waterman Steele Real Estate Advisors Lacee Jacobs, Midway David Luther, NewQuest Properties Jonathan Hicks, …
Retail Sales Growth Points to ‘Resiliency of Consumers’ Though Rising COVID-19 Cases Poses Threat, Says NRF Chief Economist
by John Nelson
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Retail sales have been increasing month-over-month and year-over-year for every month since June, according to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) Monthly Economic Review. Retail sales in October were up 1.9 percent over September, which beat expectations from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. Additionally, October retail sales were up 8.6 percent since January 2020, according to research from Harvard University’s Opportunity Insights Economic Tracker. NRF’s chief economist Jack Kleinhenz notes in the monthly report that the rebounding sales were a positive indicator for retailers that are hoping for a robust sales performance this holiday season. “Strong growth in retail sales during the last few months points to the resiliency of consumers even in this disruptive pandemic environment,” says Kleinhenz. The economist also pointed to additional stimulus money could help keep the U.S. economy on track. NRF’s report pointed to increasing retail sales stemming from an uptick in disposal personal income, which was up 5.4 percent year-over-year as of August, and a savings rate of 14.4 percent that has remained in double digits for six straight months. Clothes and accessories sales jumped by 11 percent, while sales of sporting goods, music and books grew 5.7 percent. Also in the …
SANTA MONICA, CALIF. — ValueRock Realty has purchased Mel’s Drive-In, an iconic restaurant building in Santa Monica, for $6.2 million. The name of the seller was not released. Situated on a 22,344-square-foot land parcel on Lincoln Boulevard, the 4,717-square-foot building offers on-site parking and is considered a historic landmark within the Santa Monica community. Restaurant and dental office tenants have occupied the property since 1959.