FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Trademark Property Co. has signed two new tenants at WestBend, a 278,000-square-foot mixed-use development in Fort Worth’s University District. The two tenants, Ascension and Dear Hannah, will open this fall. Trademark has also closed on the acquisition of a 3.5-acre tract contiguous to WestBend. The acquired parcel is located on University Drive immediately south of WestBend, along the Trinity River. Conceptual planning is underway to develop additional mixed-use space featuring added ground floor retail, a hotel and multifamily units. A Hawthorn Suites occupies the site. Ascension, a Dallas Design District coffee and wine bar, will open a 2,420-square-foot store overlooking the Trinity River and Trinity Trails. Women’s clothing and accessories boutique Dear Hannah will open its third location in a 1,354-square-foot space. WestBend will be the first Fort Worth location for both tenants.
FRISCO, TEXAS — Southside Bank will finance new development at Frisco Station, a 242-acre mixed-use development located along the Dallas North Tollway in Frisco. The bank will provide the Frisco Station Partnership, an investment entity composed of Hillwood, Rudman Partnership and Van Trust Real Estate, with a three-year revolving line of credit for constructing road, water, sewer and other utilities. Initial construction will begin in June and will include infrastructure to support office development along Warren Parkway. Frisco Station includes more than 5 million square feet of office space, 2,400 apartment units, food and beverage concepts, hotel and conference facilities and more than 250,000 square feet of retail space. Headquartered in Tyler, Texas, Southside Bank has $5.2 billion in assets and operates more than 60 banking facilities in Texas.
JACKSONVILLE, TEXAS — Metropolitan Capital Advisors has arranged the $3.5 million refinancing of an existing loan for Jackson Square Shopping Center, a 109,538-square-foot property in Jacksonville. Built in 1974, the shopping center was 96 percent leased at the time of financing to tenants including Tractor Supply, AutoZone, Blake Furniture, King’s Wok, Dollar General, First Choice Realty, Smith County Health, Legends Old Time Café and The Market. LegacyTexas Bank provided the non-recourse, 10-year swap loan, which features a fixed 5.7 percent interest rate. Jackson Square Shopping Center fronts State Highway 69, a major throughway in Jacksonville.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — The Vitorino Group, a commercial real estate investment sales firm in Dallas, has arranged the sale of an Old Chicago Pizza ground lease in Fort Worth. The property is located on a 2.3-acre outparcel to Presidio Towne Crossing, a 600,000-square-foot power center anchored by both a Super Target and Costco in north Fort Worth. The transaction consists of a 15-year ground lease term with rental increases and new construction.
BENBROOK, TEXAS — The Silver Group has negotiated the sale of a single tenant Dairy Queen restaurant located at 8636 Benbrook Blvd. in Benbrook. The property consists of a newly constructed 3,000-square-foot quick service restaurant on a 1.1-acre parcel along State Highway 377. The tenant, Vasari LLC, is one of the largest Dairy Queen operators in Texas. The property is situated between Panda Express and Jack in the Box and is one block from CVS/Pharmacy. The net lease had a new 20-year term commencing on the closing date. Greg Cunha of The Silver Group represented the family trust who was completing a tax-deferred exchange.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — The Cordish Cos. has signed a lease with celebrity chef Guy Fieri for his new dining concept, Guy Fieri’s Smokehouse. The new barbecue restaurant will open to the public in September at Fourth Street Live!, a 350,000-square-foot dining and entertainment destination in downtown Louisville. Designed by Boston-based Niemitz Design Group and Louisville-based Bravura Architects, the restaurant will feature 6,700 square feet of dining space, 117 interior seats, 79 outdoor patio seats, two large meat smokers and an indoor/outdoor bar. Other dining concepts at Fourth Street Live! include Birracibo by Junior Bridgeman, Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse, Bourbon Raw, Goose Island Beer Bridge, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, Brazeiros Churrascaria Brazilian Steakhouse and Eddie Merlot’s.
WALNUT CREEK, CALIF. — MoMo’s American Bar & Grill, an AT&T Park-adjacent restaurant, is opening a second location in Walnut Creek, roughly 25 miles outside of San Francisco. The bar and eatery will occupy a 6,528-square-foot retail space at 1444 N. California Blvd. Jeffrey Hook of Savills Studley represented MoMo’s, and John Sechser of Transwestern represented the landlord, Nearon Enterprises, in the transaction. The restaurant signed a 15-year lease with two extension options, and plans to open in the fourth quarter of this year. This will be the fifth restaurant owned by The Golden Bear Restaurant Group, founded in 1991 by Peter Osborne and his wife, Janet. The original MoMo’s opened in 1998 and was named in memory of Osborne’s grandmother and mentor, whom he affectionately called MoMo.
MISSOURI CITY, TEXAS — Malawi’s Pizza has leased 5,000 square feet of retail space at 8731 Highway 6 Center in Missouri City for its first Houston-area location. The center is located at Highway 6 and Sienna Parkway in Sienna Plantation, a master-planned development. Malawi’s Pizza plans to eventually open 22 restaurants in the greater Houston market. Doug Hermann, Edward Heap and Randy Hopper with The Weitzman Group handled negotiations as tenant representatives for the restaurant. The newly constructed center is shadow-anchored by H-E-B and serves the growing Sienna Plantation market. For each meal purchased at Malawi’s Pizza, the restaurant donates a meal to a child in Malawi, Africa.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Jab Beech Inc. and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which JAB Beech will acquire Krispy Kreme for $21 per share in cash, or a total equity value of approximately $1.35 billion. The agreement, which has been unanimously approved by Krispy Kreme’s board of directors, represents a premium of approximately 25 percent over the company’s closing stock price on May 6, 2016. Wells Fargo Securities LLC is serving as financial advisor to Krispy Kreme in connection with this transaction, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice LLP are providing legal support and advice. Barclays and BDT & Co. LLC are serving as financial advisors to JAB Beech in connection with this transaction, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is providing legal advice. At the close of the transaction, Krispy Kreme will be privately owned and will continue to be independently operated from its current headquarters in Winston-Salem. As of this writing there are over 1,100 Krispy Kreme shops in more than 26 countries around the world. Jab Beech Inc. is a subsidiary of JAB Holdings Co., which has controlling stakes in Keurig Green Mountain, …
LOS ANGELES — Kennedy Wilson has arranged three leases for three fast casual poke restaurants: Hoke Poke, OkoPoki and Honeyfish Poke. Poke is a type of fish salad popular in Hawaiian cuisine. Hoke Poke signed a 10-year lease from Essex Portfolio for 1,200 square feet of space at 801 Hope St. in downtown Los Angeles. Hoke Poke plans to open in July with three more locations slated to open within the next year. OkiPoki inked a five-year lease from DTLA Development Group for 1,000 square feet of space at The Alexandria, located at 507 S. Spring St. in Los Angeles’ historic core. Honeyfish Poke opened a 1,100-square-foot location at 8850 Tampa Ave. in Northridge. The restaurant signed a five-year lease with 8850 Tampa Associates for the space. Honeyfish Poke is scheduled to open its second location in Westlake Village in May. Kennedy Wilson represented the landlords in each transaction.