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.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — SRS Real Estate Partners has arranged the sale of a single-tenant restaurant property located at 15416 N. Pima Road in Scottsdale. A Texas-based private investor sold the asset to an undisclosed buyer for $3.3 million. Built in 1996, the 3,386-square-foot building features a drive-thru. Wendy’s occupies the property on a corporate-guaranteed, triple-net lease through May 2032. Patrick Luther and Matthew Mousavi of SRS’ National Net Lease Group, along with Chris Stamets and Brian Gausden of Western Retail Advisors, represented the seller in the deal.
CHAMPAIGN, ILL. — Captain D’s newest franchise location has opened in Champaign. Located at 1409 N. Prospect Ave., the restaurant marks Captain D’s first restaurant in central Illinois and seventh overall in the state. The Champaign restaurant is currently open for drive-thru and carryout. The dining room will remain closed for the immediate future due to COVID-19. Sunil Modi owns the Champaign restaurant. He previously owned Dunkin’ restaurants in the Champaign area. Captain D’s, known for its fast-casual seafood, says it has experienced a surge in franchise development across the Midwest since 2018. Today, there are more than 530 Captain D’s restaurants in 23 states across the country.
TROY, MICH. — Beyond Juicery + Eatery has signed a 1,104-square-foot lease at Troy Marketplace. The juicer will occupy space that formerly housed Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt. The retail center is located at the intersection of Big Beaver and Rochester roads in Troy, about 20 miles north of Detroit. Tjader Gerdom, Michael Murphy and Larry Siedell of Gerdom Realty & Investment represented the landlord, RPT Realty, in the lease negotiations. William Gershenson of Gershenson Group represented Beyond Juicery + Eatery.