GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS — Chicken N Pickle, an entertainment concept that pairs the food and drink of a chef-driven restaurant with pickleball and other games, will open a restaurant and entertainment venue in the central metroplex city of Grand Prairie. The venue, which is scheduled to open in 2021, will feature indoor and outdoor pickleball courts, lawn games, a rooftop bar and a full-service restaurant. Chicken N Pickle Grand Prairie will also offer clinics for players of all experience levels, as well as professional and amateur tournaments. The company is pursuing a joint venture with the City of Grand Prairie wherein the city will own the land, develop parking needs and lease to Chicken N Pickle for this use. Chicken N Pickle opened its flagship venue in Kansas City in 2017 and also brought its concept to San Antonio earlier this year.
GLENDALE, ARIZ. — Orion Investment Real Estate has arranged the sale of a retail building located at the intersection of West Peoria and North 43rd avenues in Glendale. An affiliate of DeRito Partners sold the property to a Santa Clara, Calif.-based buyer for $3.8 million, or $387.72 per square foot. Originally constructed in 1987 as a single-tenant restaurant property, the 9,801-square-foot building is now a multi-tenant property. At the time of sale, the property was 89 percent occupied by Denny’s, Subway and Alta Dental. The asset is an outparcel to Glendale Towne Center, which Target anchors. Ari Spiro and Sean Stutzman of Orion Investment represented the seller, while Joel Owens of Canton, Ga.-based All World Realty represented the buyer in the deal. The new owner has retained DeRito Partners for both leasing and property management
CHICAGO — Navy Pier, a mixed-use destination on Chicago’s lakefront, will start a temporary pier-wide closure on Tuesday, Sept. 8, in an effort to limit the financial burden and impact of the continued coronavirus pandemic on the organization. The closure will stop all operations, including those of Navy Pier’s more than 70 small businesses. Access to the pier’s outdoor space, including Polk Bros Park and North and South Docks, will also be limited or prohibited during the closure. “While this was a very difficult decision for the organization, it was a necessary one to proactively ensure the long-term success of one of Chicago’s most treasured and important civic institutions and the communities it serves,” says Marilynn Gardner, president and CEO of Navy Pier. Per state and city orders, Navy Pier originally closed to the public from March 16 to June 10 and then began a phased reopening with appropriate safety and security measures. Through the reopening, Navy Pier was able to resume partial operations and welcome guests to the pier. However, the destination experienced less than 20 percent of its typical summer attendance. To date, the Centennial Wheel, Chicago Children’s Museum, Chicago Shakespeare Theater and additional Pier Park attractions have …
ST. LOUIS — Phoenix-based Alignment Realty Capital has purchased four Sonic Drive-In restaurants located in metro St. Louis. The acquisition price for the sale-leaseback transaction was not released. The company acquired the four drive-in restaurants in a double-escrow transaction where a Sonic franchisee purchased the operations and real estate of a like-sized franchisee and simultaneously spun-off the real estate at closing. Banker’s Trust provided Alignment Realty Capital with a five-year, floating-rate acquisition loan.
PHOENIX — Orion Investment Real Estate has brokered the sale of The Shops at 38th Street, a shopping center located in Phoenix’s Arcadia neighborhood. Richard Oliver sold the asset to Alturas Shops at 38th LLC for $6.1 million, or $265 per square foot. The approximately 23,018-square-foot property was fully occupied at the time of sale. Tenants include the Whining Pig, Crumbl Cookies, Club Pilates, H&R Block, Blind Tiger Tattoo, Team 44 Fitness, BoSa Donuts and Autumn Court. Nick Miner of Orion Investment Real Estate represented the seller in the deal.
TROY, MO. — Fast-casual restaurant Slim Chickens has opened at 31 The Plaza in Troy, about 55 miles northwest of St. Louis. R-Chicken, a division of R-Solution, is the franchise operator for the Troy location. Since its founding in 2003, Slim Chickens has expanded to more than 100 locations in 17 states. The goal is to open 600 restaurants by 2025, according to a news release. Slim Chickens serves fried chicken and Southern-inspired side dishes.
SUNNYVALE, CALIF. — Sunnyvale City Council has approved a Downtown Specific Plan and Development Agreement that allows for the next phase of CityLine Sunnyvale to begin. STC Venture, a partnership between Sares Regis Group of Northern California and Hunter Properties, is developing the multi-phase redevelopment project in downtown Sunnyvale. The new phase will add 792 residential units and 653,000 square feet of office space above 182,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space on four parcels along Murphy and McKinley avenues. The overall CityLine Sunnyvale project — a 36-acre, pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use district —also features a large public plaza, as well as shopping and entertainment space. The new phase will include a Building B offering 150,000 square feet of office space and 8,000 square feet of retail space and the redevelopment of Redwood Square into Block 3S featuring 480 apartments (11 percent designated affordable) with 30,000 square feet of retail space. Construction of the new phase is scheduled to begin in early 2021. The phase also includes the redevelopment of the former Macy’s into 500,000 square feet of office space and 60,000 square feet of retail space, the development of Block 6 with 312 apartments (11 percent affordable) with 35,000 square feet of …
LOS ANGELES — Fresh. Authentic. Tasty. (FAT) Brands has agreed to purchase the Johnny Rockets restaurant chain from an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners for $25 million. The deal will be funded through cash on hand and proceeds generated from FAT’s securitization facility. The transaction is slated to close in September. With the acquisition of Johnny Rockets, FAT Brands will have more than 700 franchised and company-owned restaurants around the globe with annual system-wide sales exceeding $700 million. Johnny Rockets was founded in 1986 with its first location on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. The 1950s-themed restaurant serves freshly made, classic burgers and hand-spun real ice cream shakes. Johnny Rockets currently has more than 325 locations across the United States and internationally, including nine company-owned locations. Duff & Phelps served as financial advisor to Sun Capital Partners and Morgan Lewis & Bockius acted as legal counsel to Sun Capital Partner. Loeb & Loeb acted as legal counsel to FAT Brands and Andersen Tax served as tax advisor to FAT Brands.
LOS ANGELES — Gaw Capital USA, a Hong Kong- and Los Angeles-based real estate private equity firm, and DJM, a San Jose- and Los Angeles-based private equity real estate developer, have released plans for transforming the shopping center at Hollywood & Highland into Ovation Hollywood. Upon completion in late 2021, Ovation Hollywood will be a mixed-use project offering 135,000 square feet of retail space, two floors of nearly 100,000 square feet of creative office space, 85,000 square feet of restaurant space, 65,000 square feet of entertainment space and 40,000 square feet of event space. Gensler is providing design and architectural services to update the property’s physical appearance, including a simplified façade and color scheme, new concept for the tower, an easier to navigate layout, updated landscape design, new art pieces and enhanced outdoor space. In addition to physical upgrades, the project team is focusing on refreshing the property’s tenant mix. Renovations are slated to begin later this year, with completion scheduled for late 2021.
HERMOSA BEACH, CALIF. — CBRE has arranged the sale of a former restaurant and retail building located in Hermosa. A Greater Los Angeles-based private investor acquired the asset from a Los Angeles-based family for $4.8 million. Located at 2701 Pacific Coast Highway, the 6,031-square-foot building was originally built in 1963. The single-story property features 44 parking spaces and is zoned for commercial uses. Round Table Pizza recently vacated the property, which it had occupied for 30 years. Dan Riley, Jeff Pion, Simon Mattox and Austin Wolitarsky of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction, while the buyer was self-represented.