HACKENSACK AND LIVINGSTON, N.J., AND NEW YORK CITY — Livingston-based Jarmel Kizel Architects & Engineers has completed design work for three new restaurants. The first project is a 1,200-square-foot Bocconi Pasta Pronto & More, located at 363 Essex St. in Hackensack. The restaurant opened in June and is a prototype design for three or four more locations that are planned to open in New Jersey. The second project is Carmine’s Livingston, a 7,300-square-foot restaurant located at 405 Eisenhower Pkwy. in Livingston. The completed project consisted of the adaptive reuse of a former stagecoach stop that had later served as a tavern for 40 years until closing 7 years ago. The final project is a 7,300-square-foot T.G.I. Friday’s that will be located at 1780 Gun Hill Rd. in the Bronx, New York City. Completion is scheduled for this summer. Jarmel Kizel is completing the project on behalf of The Briad Group with assistance from Vornado Realty Trust, the owner of the strip center in which the restaurant pad site will be located.
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS — Corpus Christi-based NAI Cravey Real Estate Services has brokered the sale of a 27,000-square-foot outparcel to Jack In The Box. The site is located at 4737 Saratoga Blvd. in Corpus Christi; it is shadow-anchored by a former H-E-B Grocery store that has been recently leased to a charter school. Construction for the restaurant has commenced and completion is expected later this year. NAI’s Lynann Pinkham and Matthew Cravey represented the seller, Saratoga Village Partners, in the land transaction
PEARLAND, LEAGUE CITY AND HOUSTON, TEXAS — The San Francisco office of NAI BT Commercial has completed the sales of three ground leases in the Houston metropolitan area. In the first transaction, a private investor purchased a 2.15-acre ground lease located at 11019 Shadow Creek Pkwy. in Pearland and a 1.84-acre ground lease located at 3140 Gulf Freeway South in League City. The former site contains a Cracker Barrell restaurant and the latter site contains a McDonald’s. The properties traded for a total of approximately $5.94 million. NAI’s Bob Sanner and Rick Sanner represented the same buyer in both transactions, as well as the seller in the first deal. Additionally, NAI’s Andy Bogardus and Chris Sheldon represented both parties in the sale of a 1.5-acre ground lease located in Houston. The property, which traded for $3.5 million, is currently leased to Wachovia. The parties in both transactions were undisclosed.
EAST ST. LOUIS, ILL. — Groundbreaking has occurred for a new $2.15 sports bar and entertainment venue for The Casino Queen, a casino and resort located at 200 S. Front St. in East St. Louis. Known as SEVENS, the venue will feature 16 high-definition televisions, a retractable projection screen, museum cases that feature St. Louis Cardinals memorabilia and a 360-square-foot performance stage near a dance floor. SEVENS is expected to open this fall. St. Louis-based KAI Design & Build is serving as projects architect with Legacy Building Group serving as general contractor. The Casino Queen recently completed a $2.2 million hotel renovation project.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS — Chuy’s, an Austin, Texas-based Tex-Mex concept, has opened its new location in Arlington. The restaurant is located at The Retail Connection’s Arlington Highlands development, a 1.5-million-square-foot power center at the northeast corner of Interstate 20 and Matlock Road. Dallas-based Foremark handled the acquisition, entitlement and project management of the site. Parkway Construction & Associates managed the building’s design and construction. This marks Chuy’s third location in the Dallas/Fort Worth market.
VICTORIA, TEXAS — Moody Rambin Interests has brokered the sale of a 27,665-square-foot NNN Incredible Pizza, located at 3706 Navarro St. in Victoria. Chris Dray and Derek Hargrove of Moody Rambin Investment Services represented the seller, Victoria Incredible Pizza Group. The buyer was Fuldner Enterprises.
NEW YORK CITY — BCD has represented Five Guys Burgers and Fries in a new lease transaction. Located at 690 Third Ave. in Manhattan, New York City, the 1,700-square-foot property is the restaurant’s fourth Manhattan location. The chain plans to aggressively expand throughout 2010. Alexandra Turboff of BCD represented Five Guys, and Ron Longstreet represented the landlord, Solil Management.
CLAYTON, N.C. — LSF5 has sold a Lone Star Steak House restaurant to an undisclosed party for an undisclosed amount. The property is located at 13049 U.S. Highway 70 West in Clayton. Morrison Divine of Sperry Van Ness’ Raleigh, N.C., office and Kase Abushark of the firm’s Irvine, Calif., office represented the seller; Charlie Barzola of Raleigh-based Commercial Carolina represented the buyer.
DALLAS — Hard Rock Café Dallas is set to officially opens its doors at the Victory Park urban mixed-use development in Dallas on July 15. The 8,900-square-foot location features a 265-seat restaurant and an outdoor dining area with patio seating for 40, as well as a Rock Shop selling Hard Rock’s merchandise. The café was constructed with a “Lucid Dream” design aesthetic, which features uncommon materials that diffuse, project and absorb light. Hard Rock Café Dallas is located at 2211 N. Houston St., at the southern end of Victory Park.
NEW YORK CITY — The Kaufman Organization recently negotiated a 16-year, 5,000-square-foot lease at 470 Seventh Ave. in Manhattan, New York City, for JPD Restaurant Group. ?JPD plans to open a Pig n’ Whistle Irish pub at the location. Located in the Garment District, the 14-story building was built in 1924 and contains 74,000 square feet. The terms of the lease were undisclosed, but the asking rent for the space was $150 per square foot. Other tenants in the building include Ambient Group LLC, David Tutera, Inc., and Sabara Global Consumer Products. Grant Greenspan, Michael Kaufman, and John Schiliro of the Kaufman Organization represented both the landlord and tenant in the transaction.