BARTLETT, ILL. — Edgemark Commercial Real Estate has arranged the acquisition of a 43,560-square-foot pad for a proposed Sonic Drive-In located at the southwest corner of Route 59 and Stearns Avenue in Bartlett. Sonic Drive-In has acquired the site in order to expand its business in the Midwest. Tyson Fraser and Al Rodenbostel of Edgemark Commercial Real Estate Services represented the buyer; Mike Wesley and Joanne Sutryk, also of Edgemark, represented the seller in the transaction. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
Restaurant
CHICAGO — Chicago-based U.S. Equities Realty has completed an outparcel sale within Stony Island Plaza, a 175,000-square-foot retail center located at the intersection of 95th Street and Stony Island Avenue. Heartland Food Corp., a franchisee of Burger King fast food restaurants, has purchased the parcel in order to develop a new concept for the restaurant. The new Burger King will feature a working fireplace, a high definition plasma television, Wi-Fi access and a double drive-thru. Construction of the restaurant is underway, with completion expected before the first quarter of 2009. U.S. Equities sold the development in 2004, but continues oversee property management and leasing for the center. Additional tenants at Stony Island Plaza include Jewel-Osco, Bank of America, KFC and A.J. Wright. The acquisition price for the .8-acre parcel was not disclosed.
PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA. — Plymouth Meeting-based RAS Brokerage has arranged three Pennsylvania leases for Plaza Azteca Restaurantes Mexicanos. The restaurant chain will open a 6,921-square-foot location in a freestanding building near the intersection of Plymouth Road and Germantown Pike in Plymouth Meeting, as well as another freestanding, 6,400-square-foot location in Wyomissing across from Berkshire Mall. Finally, the chain will open a 4,600-square-foot location for its high-end concept, Salsa’s Mexican Grill, in front of Montgomeryville Mall in Montgomeryville. Marc Mandel of RAS Brokerage represented the tenant in each of the lease transactions. Plaza Azteca is based out of Virginia Beach, Va., and plans to expand into the New England area, specifically, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, over the course of the coming year.
PHILADELPHIA — The Falcone Group has signed Philadelphia restaurant Rae to 11,000 square feet at The Residences at Two Liberty Place in Philadelphia. The restaurant will relocate from its previous spot in Philadelphia’s Cira Centre to the 37th floor of the Two Liberty Place building — making it the highest restaurant in the region. The restaurant, which is run by executive chef David Stern, will share the floor with The Residences’ 10,000-square-foot Owner’s Club. In addition to serving the general public, Rae will provide preferred seating for residents of the tower, as well as room service. The Residences at Two Liberty Place comprises the top 20 floors of the Two Liberty Place Tower. It consists of 90 units that span from the 40th to the 57th floor of the building. First occupancies began in March, and full occupancy is expected in 2009.
DALLAS — Phoenix-based Opus West Corp. has signed its first five retail tenants for Broadstone Parkway, a 5.8-acre multi-use project located at the intersection of Inwood, Galleria and Simonton roads in Dallas. The new tenants include Hibashi, a 9,988-square-foot Teppan grill and sushi bar; Chill Bubble Tea, a 1,150-square-foot smoothie store; L’Image Salon, a 1,537-square-foot, full-service beauty salon; Firehouse Subs, a 2,000-square-foot sandwich shop; and Lover’s Egg Roll, a 2,000-square-foot Chinese restaurant. With the recent leases, the 39,000-square-foot retail and restaurant component of the project is approximately 50 percent leased. Developed by Opus in partnership with Alliance Communities, Broadstone Parkway features 333 luxury apartments and townhomes, along with the retail component and a five-story parking garage. The Weitzman Group is handling leasing efforts for the retail component of the project.
NEW YORK CITY AND SYRACUSE, N.Y. — New York City-based Branded Concept Development has been selected to provide construction management services for two construction projects for Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. The restaurant’s Harlem location is moving to the corner of 12th Avenue and 125th Street, across the street from its present location, to accommodate the expansion of Columbia University. The new restaurant will total 7,200 square feet. Additionally, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is adding a second level to its flagship Syracuse location. The approximately 3,700-square-foot space will be designed to resemble a beer hall, and will feature additional dining space, private event space and a concert venue.
HOUSTON AND DALLAS — Glendale, Calif.-based DineEquity Inc., a franchisor and operator of Applebee’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill restaurants, has sold 66 company-owned restaurants located in Houston, Dallas and Albuquerque, N.M. The 22 Houston-area restaurants were purchased by Wellington Yu, president of Peterson Group Inc. The 37 Dallas-area restaurants were sold to Sunil Dharod, president and CEO of Synned Inc. The seven Albuquerque-area restaurants were sold to Andy Patel, president of Anand Enterprises and Mina Inc. The Texas transactions are expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2008, and the New Mexico transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2009. The 66 Applebee’s sold in Texas and New Mexico are part of 110 company-owned locations that DineEquity has sold this year. Other restaurants are located in Nevada, Southern California and Delaware. DineEquity expects to generate approximately $63 million in after-tax proceeds from the sales, as well as approximately $50 million in sale-leaseback agreements related to the franchising agreements. Proceeds will be used to reduce DineEquity’s consolidated funded debt obligations.
MARYLAND, VIRGINIA AND WEST VIRGINIA — NPC International has acquired 99 Pizza Hut stores located in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia from Colonial Foods for $81.8 million. The 50 dine-in restaurants, three Pizza Hut/Yum! brand stores and 46 delivery units are located primarily in Virginia. NPC funded the purchase by borrowing against its $75 million revolving credit facility and utilizing $5 million in cash reserves. NPC is the world’s largest Pizza Hut franchisee.
ALLEN, TEXAS — The Woodlands Grill has held the grand opening for its fourth location at 932 Garden Park Dr. in Allen. The new restaurant is situated within Watters Creek at Montgomery Farm, a 1.15 million-square-foot, mixed-use development. The restaurant seats 220, and also contains an outdoor dining patio and a semi-private dining area for special events. The design of the restaurant is inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Fallingwater House.
SOLANA BEACH, CALIF. — Pinnacle Solana LP, an affiliate of Pinnacle Hotels USA, has purchased a 34,840-square-foot property in Solana Beach for $3.4 million. Located at 647 N. Highway 101, a portion of the property is currently occupied by Parioli’s Italian Bistro; the balance is zoned for commercial use. Joseph Balla and Steve Bruce of Lee & Associates Carlsbad office represented both parties in the transaction. The seller was TMD LLC.