FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. — Fayetteville-based fast casual restaurant chain Slim Chickens has signed a franchise deal for seven new restaurants in the state of Maryland. Franchisee DDR Holdings, a venture between brothers Darrin and Dennis Atlas, will open the units. DDR Holdings currently owns and operates two Slim Chickens stores in the state. The Slim Chickens brand has opened in more than 255 locations across the United States and the UK, with more than 1,200 stores currently in development.
MESA, ARIZ. — Diversified Partners has broken ground on Eastgate Plaza, a 17-acre mixed-use development at the northeast corner of Elliot and Ellsworth roads in Mesa. Confirmed tenants for the project include a drive-thru Starbucks Coffee, d’Lite Health On The Go, Pure Barre, Fix FX, Fresh Monkee, Playa Bowls, Kolache Café, Southern California-based Farmer Boys, Ono Hawaiian BBQ, Vero Chicago Pizza, Swig soda shop, Euphoria Nail Salon, Mecham Orthodontics, MB2 Dental, Andi’s Hair Salon & Barbershop AVEDA, Discount Tire and The UPS Store. Eastgate Plaza will also feature a 91,911-square-foot Cambria Hotel with 107 guest rooms on 2.11 acres. Designed with Cambria’s new prototypical plans, the hotel will include a 500-square-foot rooftop bar and kitchen, a first-floor restaurant and lounge, an outdoor seating and dining area, and an outdoor pool with a sundeck and fireplace. The hotel is slated to open on Sept. 1, 2025. Elliot & Ellsworth Investment Properties owns the site. An entity led by Brown Jr. Canyon Building & Design is the construction management group overseeing the buildout, while RKAA Architects is the architect of the project. EPS Group is serving as civil engineer.
ALLEN, TEXAS — Chicken N Pickle, a Kansas City-based concept that combines dining with pickleball and other outdoor games, has broken ground on a 43,000-square-foot restaurant and entertainment venue in the northeastern Dallas suburb of Allen. The venue is located at The Farm, a 135-acre mixed-use development by JaRyCo. The opening is slated for early 2025. Chicken N Pickle also has locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth metros of Grand Prairie and Grapevine, as well as San Antonio, and will open its facility at Webster, a southwestern suburb of Houston, later this month.
KATY, TEXAS — Three new tenants have opened stores at LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch in the western Houston suburb of Katy. Athleisure provider lululemon has opened a 4,133-square-foot store next to Sephora, and South African restaurant concept Nando’s has also debuted its 2,754-square-foot eatery next to Jamba Juice. Lastly, apparel and accessories retailer Two Tarts’ Toppers has opened a 1,113-square-foot store next to CycleBar and across from Bar Louie. Poag Development Group owns LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch.
RIVERVIEW, MICH. — Farbman Group has brokered the sale of the former Sportsmen’s Den restaurant building in Riverview, a southern suburb of Detroit. The sales price was undisclosed. Located at 15001 Sibley Road, the Sportsmen’s Den had been operated by the Orlando family for more than four decades. The 24,250-square-foot property, which includes a banquet hall, was listed for sale after previous owner, Joe Orlando, announced his retirement last year. The restaurant catered for the Detroit Tigers from 1982 to 2009. Local restaurateur Jeremy Syrocki was the buyer. Syrocki owns numerous restaurants such as Truago, Mamacitas, Rocky’s Roadhouse, Major Biddle’s and Lloyds. Nanci Tarpley of Farbman brokered the sale.
ROSWELL, GA. — Red Door Revivals, a locally based development firm led by Will Coley, has broken ground on Roswell Junction, a new food hall in Roswell’s historic district. The site of the 12,000-square-foot venue formerly housed Atlanta Street Baptist Church, which moved to a church in nearby Woodstock, Ga. Red Door is retrofitting the church building for the venue and is working on integrating parking and other infrastructural elements into Roswell Junction. Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson and other city officials participated in the groundbreaking ceremony. Slated for completion this summer, the venue will house eight different food concepts and three bars, including an indoor/outdoor bar. The food hall will feature a bandstand, covered patio, arcade, big screen media, outdoor games, children’s play space and a fenced dog area. Pat Garza of National Food Hall Solutions will operate Roswell Junction upon completion.
DALLAS — Seven new tenants have joined the roster at Work/Shop, a 216,500-square-foot mixed-use development in North Dallas. EVO Entertainment Prestonwood debuted at the development in November, and Local Jonny’s, MAI (My Aesthetics Intelligence), Rose Couture Nail Bar and [solidcore] are slated to open later this year. Toast and juice bar Toastique will also open this month and eatery Crisp & Green is now open. Houston-based Triten Real Estate owns Work/Shop, which features 81,500 square feet of retail space in addition to 135,000 square feet of office space and 30,000 square feet of green space.
HOUSTON — Game Time, a Florida-based entertainment concept that includes bowling, arcade games and dining will open a 69,105-square-foot center in North Houston. The space within the 140,377-square-foot Willowbrook Pavilion shopping center, which is owned by NewQuest Properties, was formerly home to IT’Z Entertainment. The theater portion of that space has since been backfilled by EoS Fitness, which plans to open this summer. Game Time signed the 10-year lease after acquiring the former anchor tenant’s furniture, fixtures and equipment.
LANCASTER, KY. — Atlanta-based spirits company Staghorn is underway on the development of its first distillery, named Garrard County Distilling Co., situated on a 210-acre site in Lancaster, roughly 40 miles south of Lexington in Garrard County. Upon completion, the $250 million project will feature a 50,000-square-foot distillery, as well as two rickhouses and a visitor center with a tasting room and restaurant, with plans for up to 24 aging warehouses by 2030. The distillery is expected to create more than 60 permanent jobs and produce up to 150,000 barrels of bourbon each year. A construction timeline was not disclosed.
AURORA, COLO. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a restaurant property located at 25455 E. Smoky Hill Road in Aurora, a suburb east of Denver. A developer sold the asset to a local all-cash investor in a 1031 exchange for $2.6 million. Starbucks Coffee occupies the 2,155-square-foot property on a net-lease basis. James Rassenfoss and Drew Isaac of Marcus & Millichap’s Denver office represented the seller, while Kyle Malnati at Kentwood Commercial represented the buyer in the deal.
