Weekly Retail Real Estate News
In-N-Out Plots Move into New Mexico
In-N-Out announced Tuesday that it will enter a new market in New Mexico, a rare, but increasingly common move for the decades-old family chain. The burger brand is in the early stages of planning its first restaurants in the state. Openings in Albuquerque should happen by 2027. Expansion into other cities are expected beyond that. In-N-Out will use a distribution facility in Colorado Springs to deliver products to the upcoming New Mexico locations.
DTSM selects new security company set to patrol the Promenade and Downtown districts
In a lengthy, five hour-plus meeting, the Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. (DTSM) board of directors who were gathered at the Third St HQ, along with members of the public and representatives from the Santa Monica Police Department, voted on which new security company would be offered the contract to patrol the Promenade and Downtown districts.
Why You Should Negotiate a Lease’s Assignment and Subletting Clause
For many landlords looking to lease their ground floor retail space, franchisee tenants are an attractive proposition for several reasons. One, there is a track record. The landlord isn’t giving an improvement allowance and paying brokerage commissions in connection with a lease to a new concept tenant that may fail and force the landlord to re-market the space again soon. A franchise is a true-and-tried concept with a brand recognition that should be able to drive traffic and justify the investments by the landlord.
Santa Monica to get its own ‘sphere’ (two, actually)
In the Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. (DTSM) board meeting last Thursday, members voted unanimously to move ahead with a 360 degree immersive ‘dome’ entertainment activation on the former site of Parking Structure 3. The project will consist of two, 360 degree immersive entertainment domes, very much like the new Sphere in Las Vegas, that has been attracting a lot of attention recently. While these will be very similar in nature they will be significantly scaled down, with one dome being 100 ft in diameter and the other being 180 ft. (To compare, the Sphere is nearly three times that size, at 516 ft in diameter.)
61-Unit Wendy’s Franchisee Declares Bankruptcy
A 61-unit Wendy’s franchisee declared bankruptcy Tuesday after suffering from “post-COVID consumer habits, ever-increasing costs to do business, and significantly higher interest rates,” CEO Andrew Levy said.
Florida-based Starboard Group operates restaurants across Florida, Alabama, Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin. The company shuttered nine locations shortly before the filing. Collectively, these stores accounted for $1.5 million of $2 million in annual losses. Two additional units shut down prior to this move as well. More closures of underperforming stores—or ones with large remodel obligations—will likely happen in the future.
Real estate can use generative AI to turn the industry’s data into treasure in seven steps.
Generative AI (gen AI) is maturing at an auspicious moment for the real estate industry. Investors have mountains of both proprietary and third-party data about properties, communities, tenants, and the market itself. This information can be used to customize existing gen AI tools so that they can perform real estate–specific tasks, such as identifying opportunities for investors at lightning speed, revolutionizing building and interior design, creating marketing materials, and facilitating customer journeys while opening up new revenue streams.
BuyBuy Baby plots 100 stores; will open 11 on Nov. 18 — here are the locations
BuyBuy Baby is ready for its brick-and-mortar comeback. The specialty baby products retailer is opening 11 stores on Saturday, November 18, with locations stretching from Massachusetts to Maryland. (See list of locations at end of article.)The openings come less than four months after BuyBuy Baby was purchased out of bankruptcy by baby goods manufacturer Dream on Me and shuttered all its stores.
Private equity firm Aurelius to acquire The Body Shop
The Body Shop is getting a new owner — for a bargain. Brazil-based cosmetics conglomerate Natura & Co said it reached an agreement to sell the natural beauty products pioneer to U.K. private equity group Aurelius. The transaction is valued at £207 million ($254 million), a steep decline from the $1.2 billion Natura paid to acquire The Body Shop from L’Oréal in 2017.
Boot Barn to open 52 stores in 2024
Boot Barn Holdings remains committed to store expansion despite a soft second-quarter. The retailer of Western-styled and work-related apparel and footwear opened 10 stores during its second quarter, bringing its total store count to 371. Looking ahead, Boot Barn,
Chain Store Age’s 2023 Breakout Retailers award winner, plans to open 52 locations in 2024. In May 2022, the company upped its long-term potential to approximately 900 stores.
172-Unit Burger King Franchisee Declares Bankruptcy
Premier Kings, a 172-unit Burger King franchisee, declared bankruptcy in late October after the death of its owner created operational instability. It’s the third Burger King franchisee to enter court proceedings this year. The company was founded in 2009 by Manraj Sidhu. He started with six stores in the Birmingham, Alabama, market and expanded in 2014 with 34 more units throughout Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. From 2015 to 2021, 100-plus restaurants entered the portfolio in Tennessee, Florida, and South Carolina. Premier Kings earned $233.3 million and $255 million in sales in 2021 and 2020, respectively.
