SAN ANTONIO — Newk’s Eatery’s franchise partner Stephen Kuehler will open three new restaurants in the San Antonio area. A Newk’s restaurant will open in New Braunfels at the corner of Town Center Drive and Creekside Way in the Town Center at Creekside. In addition, two more locations will open in north San Antonio and the surrounding area. The San Antonio and New Braunfels locations are part of Newk’s growth plans, which includes opening nearly 30 company-owned and franchised locations this year. The chain currently operates 77 units in 13 states, predominantly in the southeast.
HOUSTON — Houston-based Baker Katz has acquired the 30,000-square-foot former Baytown Seafood restaurant in Houston. The property is located at the intersection of I-10 East and Haden Road. Baker Katz plans to demolish the current building and construct an 8,000-square-foot property, which will be available for lease to restaurant and retail tenants.
DALLAS — Five new restaurant and retail additions have been made at Victory Park, the first wave of retail announcements in the Dallas district’s redevelopment. The new tenants bring more than 10,500 square feet of added retail, restaurant and service-related businesses to the district, which is being developed by Trademark Property Co. The new tenants include; BuzzBrews, a 4,612-square-foot restaurant opening its fourth Dallas location in the fall of 2015; Jimmy John’s, a 1,767-square-foot restaurant slated to open in spring 2015 at 2416 Victory Park Lane; Victory Park CrossFit, a 2,523-square-foot fitness center scheduled to open in spring 2015 at 2312 Victory Park Lane; Read Between the Lines, a 1,164-square-foot stationary store now open at 2412 Victory Park Lane; and Simply Elegant, a 474-square-foot floral design store now open at 2424 Victory Park Lane. In addition to these new tenants, Victory Park features more than 165,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space. In addition, the district includes 621,000 square feet of Class A office space, the 252-room W Dallas – Victory Hotel, and more than 1,700 residential units.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Planet Hollywood plans to transform its Orlando flagship location into a four-story observatory set to debut in spring 2016. The reimagined Planet Hollywood Observatory will overlook Downtown Disney with a newly expanded outdoor terrace and bar. Elkus Manfredi Architects will spearhead the design and will align the new Planet Hollywood Observatory with the transformation of Downtown Disney into Disney Springs. Disney Springs will treat guests by day and night to dining, shopping and entertainment with open-air promenades, springs and waterfront charm.
BEE CAVE, TEXAS — Rocco’s Grill is relocating to 12432 Bee Cave Road from its original Lakeway Commons Shopping Center location. The new location spans 6,334 square feet and features two outdoor dining and entertainment areas, including a covered patio and an outdoor deck. The property is adjacent to the Hill Country Galleria, will have larger seating capacity, more parking and is estimated to open in late April. Rocco’s Grill, founded by Rocco C. “Rockey” Piazza 13 years ago in Lakeway, serves Italian recipes including pasta, seafood and steaks. Bryan McMurrey of CBRE represented the landlord, Hill Country Galleria LLC, in the transaction. Currin Van Eman of VC Interests LLC represented Rocco’s Grill.
INDIANAPOLIS, FORT WAYNE AND LAFAYETTE, IND. — Dunkin’ Donuts has signed multi-unit store development agreements with two existing franchise groups to build 46 restaurants in Indiana over the next several years. Existing franchise group Kings Point Ventures plans to develop 38 Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, 10 of which will be located outside of the major metropolitan area. The group currently operates more than 70 Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in several states. Existing franchisee Bud Patel plans to develop eight Dunkin’ Donuts locations in Lafayette and Indianapolis. Three of these new restaurants will be located in smaller towns and communities outside Lafayette and Indianapolis. Patel currently operates more than 20 Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in the metro Chicago area and Davenport, Iowa. Jay Punukollu, Patel’s partner, will be responsible for overseeing the daily restaurant operations in Lafayette. The duo’s first restaurant is planned to open in 2016, and the remainder by 2019. Currently, there are nearly 30 Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants located throughout Indiana, and the company is continuing to recruit franchisees in the cities of Evansville and Terre Haute.
ATLANTA — Westside Ironworks, a 19,000-square-foot, $8.5 million retail redevelopment in Atlanta’s West Midtown neighborhood, has added three new tenants, bringing its pre-leasing to 75 percent occupancy. The new tenants include O-Ku (3,200 square feet), a Southern-style sushi restaurant; Dixon Rye (5,000 square feet), an upscale, rustic-style home furnishings retailer; and Tom+Chee (2,600 square feet), a café-style, comfort food restaurant known for its Grilled Cheese Donut. All three retailers are expected to open this fall. The Westside Ironworks redevelopment transforms the former site of Iron-Works International Inc. into a retail destination. The project is spearheaded by Westside Ironworks LLC, a partnership between Frank Buonanotte and Jeff Stein. Buonanotte is the founder and chairman emeritus of The Shopping Center Group and the founder and principal of Metro Real Estate Investment Advisors, a real estate investment fund. In 2010, Stein founded Stein Investment Group, which has invested in and is actively acquiring real estate throughout metro Atlanta and the Southeast.
VERONA, WIS. — Lee & Associates has arranged a $625,000 land sale in Verona, approximately 11 miles southwest of Madison. The property is located at 671 Hometown Circle. Steve Doran and Todd Waller of Lee & Associates represented the buyer, Taco Bell of America LLC, in completing the transaction. Taco Bell plans to begin construction on a new restaurant at the location this spring and open this fall.
THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS — Truluck’s and Starbucks are set to join Hughes Landing, a 66-acre mixed-use development in The Woodlands. Truluck’s will be located in restaurant row in Hughes Landing, while Starbucks will be located on the retail level of One Lakes Edge, a 390-unit multifamily development. Hughes Landing features a mixture of restaurants and retail, entertainment venues, up to 800 multifamily residences, Class A office space and a full-service Embassy Suites scheduled to open in late 2015. Truluck’s plans to begin construction on its 10,000-square-foot space this spring, and expects to complete construction this fall. The restaurant features seafood, steaks and wine. The 1,820-square-foot Starbucks location is expected to open in March and will provide coffee, teas and snacks. Rip Reynolds of The Howard Hughes Corp. represented The Woodlands in the transactions. Pete Stewart Properties Inc. represented Truluck’s. Walter Salek and Lasater Miller with The Retail Connection represented Starbucks.
MIDLAND, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Chick-fil-A, a 3,500-square-foot net-leased property in the west Texas city of Midland. Geoff Ficke and Neal Waldman of Marcus & Millichap’s Dallas office marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a limited liability company. Alvin Mansour of the firm’s San Diego office procured the buyer, a private investor. Chick-fil-A is located at the northwest corner of Village Circle and South Garfield Street at 25 Village Circle. The property was built in 2012 and sits on more than one acre. The asset is within walking distance to Midland Memorial Hospital and is less than one mile south of Midland High School. At the time of listing, 13 years remained on the original 15-year corporately guaranteed ground lease.