LIVONIA, MADISON HEIGHTS, FERNDALE AND BIRMINGHAM, MICH. — Pizza Hut has signed four leases for restaurant space in Southeast Michigan. Totaling 5,566 square feet, the leases are located at Wonderland Village in Livonia; a new development at 14 Mile and John roads in Madison Heights; Ferndale Avenue Shoppes in Ferndale; and a center on Woodward Avenue in Birmingham. Adam Goodman of Mid-America Real Estate-Michigan represented Pizza Hut in the transactions.
Restaurant
HOUSTON — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 5,362-square-foot net-leased property in Houston occupied by Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill. The restaurant, located at 17117 Tomball Parkway, is in proximity to Willowbrook Mall. Jason Vitorino of Marcus & Millichap marketed the asset on behalf of the seller, a limited liability company. Jared Aubrey, also of Marcus & Millichap, secured and represented the buyer in the transaction, an institutional investor.
RICHARDSON, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 2,567-square-foot property occupied by Gatti’s Pizza in Richardson. Originally constructed in 1978, the building is located at 2115 E. Belt Line Road, which boasts traffic counts in excess of 30,000 per day. At the time of the sale, Gatti’s had three years remaining on the triple-net lease. Blake Burnett of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, an out-of-state family partnership, and also procured the buyer, a local limited partnership.
TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA — Tilted Kilt Franchise Operating LLC and Kilt Management LLC, both based in Tempe, Ariz., will develop 15 new Tilted Kilt pubs in Texas and Oklahoma during the next five years, including five locations in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. New locations in nearby Frisco and Las Colinas are already operating. The development marks the brand’s entry into the Sooner State, though a specific location has yet to be announced. Kilt Management is acting as developer of the new properties and will also oversee operations and management.
DENVER — Smashburger, a Denver-based burger restaurant concept, is targeting several Southeast cities as sites for new restaurants. The company has partnered with Robert Marshall of Bamaberto LLC to open 23 new restaurants in Atlanta during the next several years. Marshall, formerly with McDonald’s, and his team will also purchase five existing Smashburger restaurants in Atlanta. Smashburger has also partnered with Ray Ruiz and Wellesley Bromfield of Two Spurs LLC to open 18 new locations in Orlando and Jacksonville, Fla. Ruiz and Bromfield were former franchisees of McDonald’s. Lastly, Smashburger has partnered with Steven Taylor, Chris Smith and Jay Kikel of CapQueen3 to open six restaurants in Charlotte, N.C. Taylor and Smith currently own a Smashburger in Columbia, S.C., and Kikel was a former operator of Five Guys Burgers & Fries franchises.
WALDORF, MD. — A new Silver Diner is set to open a new location at The Shops at Waldorf in Waldorf. The new 6,500-square-foot restaurant is slated to open in spring 2014. Silver Diner operates 15 locations in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region, with the new Waldorf location being the only Silver Diner restaurant in southern Maryland. Madison Marquette manages The Shops at Waldorf, a 495,162-square-foot neighborhood center.
HOUSTON — Baker Katz has arranged a 2,633-square-foot lease for the first Houston location of fast casual pasta restaurant Noodles & Co. The new eatery will join sporting goods retailer Tyler’s and Bonefish Grill in what was formerly the Sears Automotive Building at 1555 Lake Woodlands Drive. Jason Baker of Baker Katz represented the tenant in the negotiations, while Kirk Dodson of General Growth Properties represented the landlord. Noodles & Co. now has eight locations in Texas and plans to continue expansion in the Houston market through the end of 2015.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 45,346-square-foot property net-leased by Sonic Restaurants Inc. in Fort Worth. Situated at 8661 North Beach St., the location benefits from daily traffic counts in excess of 26,630 vehicles per day. Sonic has more than eight years remaining on the lease and multiple five-year extension options. Vincent Knipp of Marcus & Millichap’s Fort Worth office represented the seller, a partnership. Alex Bouchard and Gus Lagos, of Marcus & Millichap’s Houston office, secured the buyer, also a partnership.
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA. AND CORDOVA, TENN. — Franklin Street Real Estate Services has arranged the sale of two Red Robin restaurants for $3.8 million. One restaurant is a 6,350-square-foot location at 1250 Scenic Highway in Lawrenceville, part of the Atlanta metro area. The other is a 6,381-square-foot restaurant located at 1231 N. Germantown Parkway in Cordova, part of the Memphis metro area. Mac McCall and Bryan Belk of Franklin Street represented the seller for both properties, a Memphis-based real estate investment company. The buyers are private investors based in La Verne, Calif., and Oklahoma City. Both buyers plan on holding the properties long-term, according to Franklin Street.
THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS — The Howard Hughes Corporation (NYSE: HHC) has signed Front Burner Restaurants to an 8,000-square-foot lease for a new location of Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar at Hughes Landing in The Woodlands. This first Houston location of the “farm-to-fork, garden-to-glass” eatery is scheduled to open in early 2015 and is the second restaurant to sign a lease at Hughes Landing, a 66-acre mixed-use development of HHC subsidiary The Woodlands Development Company. Jack Breard and Michael Miller of United Commercial Realty represented Front Burner in the negotiations, while Rip Reynolds of HHC represented Woodlands Development.