MIAMI BEACH, FLA. — Brodson Construction has wrapped up construction on the expansion of Shake Shack on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. Brodson expanded the restaurant by 586 square feet, bringing the eatery’s interior square footage to 2,231 square feet. Brodson has completed five Shake Shack locations in the Southeast and is currently building another in Orlando.
POWAY, CALIF. — Lee & Associates has arranged the $1.4 million sale of a restaurant building located at 12717-12721 Poway Road in Poway. Victor Aquilina and Mario Martinez of Lee & Associates – North San Diego County represented the buyer, Pho Ca Dao, in the transaction. Mickey Roberts of Re/Max Associates represented the seller, Mogavero Giuseppa 1990 Family Trust. The acquisition of the 4,800-square-foot freestanding building is part of an expansion effort into Poway for Pho Ca Dao, which operates a chain of Vietnamese restaurants. Pho Ca Dao plans to renovate the current restaurant building.
NEW YORK CITY — Chef Pino Luongo is opening an Italian restaurant in SoHo at 160 Prince St., a space which housed Milady’s neighborhood bar from the 1930s until 2014. Eastern Consolidated brokered the 15-year, 1,850-square-foot ground-floor lease at the corner of Prince and Thompson streets. James Famularo represented the landlord, while Jeff Geoghegan and Greg Goldberg represented the tenant. Luongo has owned and operated restaurants for more than 30 years. Luongo opened Il Cantinori in the East Village in 1983, followed by Coco Pazzo on the Upper East Side in 1990, Tuscan Square in Rockefeller Center in 1997, Centolire in 2001 and Morso in 2011.
ST. LOUIS — JAB Holding Co., the private investment firm that purchased Krispy Kreme Doughnuts last year, has agreed to purchase Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA) in a transaction valued at approximately $7.5 billion. JAB will acquire Panera Bread for $315 per share in cash and will assume approximately $340 million of net debt. Panera Bread’s board of directors has unanimously approved the purchase agreement, which is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. “We strongly support Panera’s vision for the future, strategic initiatives, culture of innovation and balanced company versus franchise store mix,” says Olivier Goudet, partner and CEO of JAB. “We are excited to invest in, and work together with, Panera’s management team and franchisees to continue to lead the industry.” As of Dec. 27, 2016, there were 2,036 bakery-cafes in 46 states and in Ontario, Canada operating under the Panera Bread, Saint Louis Bread Co. or Paradise Bakery & Café names. Information about whether or not the transaction will affect Panera Bread’s restaurant locations was not disclosed. After 25 years operating as a publicly traded company, Panera Bread will become private and continue to be operated independently by its management team. Speaking to The …
NEW YORK CITY — Nobu Downtown will open in April at L&L Holding Co.’s 195 Broadway office tower. Located between Fulton and Dey Streets, the 12,500-square-foot restaurant includes a 4,500-square-foot street-level bar and lounge, subterranean dining and a private sake table. David Rockwell of Rockwell Group designed the restaurant space.
DENVER — Tropical Smoothie Cafe plans for continued development in Colorado, targeting Denver, Colorado Springs and Centennial to expand its presence through franchise growth. Tropical Smoothie currently has three locations in Colorado. Spearheading Tropical Smoothie’s expansion throughout Colorado is husband-and-wife team Craig and Dianne LeMieux, area developers for the region. The LeMieuxs purchased area developer rights to the market in April 2016, along with two existing locations in Centennial. In addition to their development efforts in Colorado, the LeMieuxs are also Tropical Smoothie area developers in Michigan and Ohio. They currently have a total of 58 open locations throughout their markets, with an additional 39 cafes in development. Over the past three years, Tropical Smoothie Cafe has sold over 450 franchises nationwide. This year, the food and smoothie franchise plans to open 100 restaurants nationwide, focusing on franchise opportunities in markets such as Indianapolis, Nashville, Houston, Dallas, Cincinnati and Minneapolis, among others. By 2020, Tropical Smoothie Cafe aims to have 1,000 stores open across the U.S.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — NAI Wisinski has arranged the sale of a 5,720-square-foot restaurant building in Grand Rapids. Georgina’s Fusion Cuisine, a Traverse City-based Asian and Latin taqueria, purchased the two-story building for an undisclosed price. Located at 724 Wealthy St., the property will feature a 2,860-square-foot restaurant on the first floor and two apartments on the second floor. The building will undergo major renovations for the full-service restaurant before an anticipated opening this summer. This will be Georgina’s second location in Michigan. Todd Leinberger of NAI Wisinski arranged the sale on behalf of Georgina’s. Dave Zeemering of Victory Realty represented the seller, who is retiring from his retail business, Phil’s Stuff.
NEW YORK CITY — Construction has begun and retail leasing is underway at Tremont Renaissance, a mixed-use property located at 1910 Webster Ave. in the East Tremont section of the Bronx. The building is an affordable housing development that fronts Webster and East Tremont avenues. Tremont Renaissance is located near the Tremont Metro-North station, the Tremont Avenue subway station on the B and D lines and several bus routes. Half of the 256 units in the 12-story building will rent to people with maximum household income levels ranging from $38,100 annually for an individual to $48,960 for a family of three. The rest will rent to people making up to $76,200 for an individual and $97,920 for a family of three. Amenities will include a health and fitness center, children’s play area, internet lounge, private terraces, landscaped rooftops and a yoga studio. Tremont Renaissance will contain four ground-floor commercial units totaling almost 40,000 square feet.
NEW YORK CITY — Blue Ribbon Federal Grill has opened on the ground floor of AKA Wall Street, an all-residential hotel located at 84 William St. in Manhattan’s Financial District. The 98-seat restaurant is located across the street from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York at the corner of Maiden Lane and William Street. The first Blue Ribbon Federal Grill opened its doors in 1992. Asfour-Guzy Architects designed the new Manhattan location.
YONKERS & NANUET, N.Y. — Jeremiah Houlihan of Houlihan Parnes Realtors has arranged an $850,000 first mortgage loan for a mixed-use building located at 925-939 Yonkers Ave. in Yonkers. The property consists of a two-story building with the Clairmont Diner on the first floor and three apartments on the second floor, along with an attached one-story building containing an automobile service station. Houlihan also arranged a $1.3 million first mortgage loan for a retail center located at 148-164 E. Route 59 in Nanuet. Tenants include Empire State College, Sterling Optical and Bach-to-Rock music school. The 10-year loans were placed with Savings Banks with a 25-year amortization schedule.
