Atlanta and New York City — Blackstone has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a franchiser of fast-casual restaurants, from Levine Leichtman Capital Partners. The deal values the Atlanta-based smoothie chain at around $2 billion, including debt, according to The Wall Street Journal. Tropical Smoothie Cafe began as a single location in Destin, Florida, in 1997. The chain has grown to more than 1,400 locations in 44 states today. The company opened more than 175 locations in 2023, 70 percent of which were opened by existing franchisees. …
Restaurants
Columbia and Florence, S.C. — Slim Chickens has opened two new restaurants in South Carolina. Located in Columbia and Florence, the stores are owned and operated by franchisees Break Bread Ventures and Chandler Restaurant Group, respectively. This marks the seventh Slim Chickens restaurant for Break Bread Ventures and the second for Chandler Restaurant Group. Slim Chickens’ current portfolio includes more than 265 units in the United States, the U.K. and Turkey.
San Francisco — Ingka Centres has opened a 23,000-square-foot food hall at Meeting Place in San Francisco, a 256,000-square-foot IKEA-anchored shopping center owned by the company. Vendors at the food hall, dubbed Saluhall, include Taqueria La Venganza, MOMO Noodle, KAYMA Algerian Eater, Curry Up Now and Casa Boriqueña. KERB will operate the venue, which features a focus on plant-forward cuisine.
Center Valley, Pa. — Five Guys Burgers & Fries will open a 2,407-square-foot restaurant at Promenade Saucon Valley — formerly known as The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley — in Center Valley. Scheduled to open this fall, the store will be situated between tenants European Wax Center and uBreakiFix. Five Guys’ portfolio currently includes more than 1,700 restaurants globally.
Clinton Township, Mich. — Restaurant Andiamo Pasta & Chops has signed a 7,670-square-foot lease at The Mall at Partridge Creek, a 640,000-square-foot shopping center located in Clinton Township, roughly 25 miles outside Detroit. Scheduled to open this summer, the eatery will mark the first for the concept in the state. Spinoso Real Estate Group manages the shopping center, which is anchored by MJR Theaters. Powerhouse Gym is also scheduled to join the property as an anchor tenant in 2025.
Coos Bay, Ore. — AlpHubbard LLC has acquired a restaurant building located in Coos Bay for $1.9 million. Burger King occupies the 2,824-square-foot freestanding drive-thru property, which was constructed in 1992. Todd VanDomelen and Mike Brown of Norris & Steven Inc. represented the buyer, and Clayton Brown of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, Ternik LLC.
Houston and Carrollton, Texas — Restaurant group Shoo Loong Kan has signed two leases in Texas, marking the first locations in the state for the group. Plans include a 6,213-square-foot restaurant at West on West in Houston, as well as a 6,330-square-foot restaurant in Carrollton. NewQuest Properties owns both properties. Michael Pittman II, Michael Burgower and Rachel Granstrom of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the lease negotiations.
Fayetteville, Ark. — Fast-casual brand Slim Chickens has signed a franchise deal for the development of 25 new restaurants in Virginia. Mid-Atlantic Restaurant Group (MARG) will own and operate the units. MARG’s existing franchise portfolio in the state includes Subway, Tropical Smoothie, Dunkin’ Donuts and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop restaurants. The first new Slim Chickens is scheduled to open this year.
Houston — Fast-casual concept Salad and Go has signed four new leases in Texas. The brand will open restaurants at a 44,431-square-foot property in Magnolia and a 30,000-square-foot property in Cypress. Danny Miller of Gulf Coast Commercial Group represented the landlord in both negotiations. Salad and Go has also signed leases in The Woodlands and Bryan. Jacob Weersing of Capital Retail represented the landlord of the Woodlands property in the transaction. Jason Baker, Traci Holman, Lunden McGill and John Frazier of Baker Katz represented Salad and Go in the lease negotiations.
Atlanta — Two restaurants will open at Uptown Atlanta, a 47-acre mixed-use development in Atlanta. J’ouvert Caribbean Kitchen and El Gordo are both scheduled to open this week, marking the first food-and-beverage openings at the property. Concepts Bene Korean, White Windmill and Madre Selva have also signed leases at the development. Rubenstein Partners is the developer and landlord.