Christian Prakas, restaurant/nightclub
specialist, was exclusive broker for the following three
transactions:

*Select
Investment Properties has purchased a 2,800 SF building located at
19-23 SE 5^th
Avenue, Delray Beach, FL. The building is presently 75% leased
including an insurance company and BluIce
Lounge, a new martini lounge. The sale is valued at $1,250,000. The Prakas
Group, Inc. represented both the buyer and the sellers, Joseph Peraino and Frank
Carucci of Joe’s Pub Corp.

* Khoury Synergy has purchased the 1,500 SF BluIce Lounge located at 19 SE 5^th Avenue,
Delray Beach, FL. BluIce Lounge is a chic lounge serving
Mediterranean themed dishes and crepes along with a full liquor bar. The sale is
valued at $175,000. The Prakas Group, Inc. represented the buyer as well as the
seller, Taylor Smith of On The Rocks.

According to Christian Prakas, “This is an
excellent location in Delray
Beach, right on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and
Federal
Highway. It’s a treasure-trove for any business
seeking maximum exposure on one of the hottest strips in Palm Beach County.”

*Boca Tanning Club Deerfield, Inc. has leased 1,700 SF of retail space for Boca Tanning Club, an upscale tanning
salon, located at 215 N. Federal
Highway, Boca Raton, FL. The company has been in business for
five years and has three other Florida
locations including one in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. The deal is valued at
$215,000. The Prakas Group, Inc. is exclusive broker for Boca Tanning Club for
all of South Florida. The Prakas Group, Inc.
represented the lessee. The lessor, Investments Limited, represented
themselves.

The Prakas Group, established in 2000, is on track
to close over $300 million in sales over a six-year period. Headquartered at
705 East Palmetto Park
Road in Boca Raton,
FL, The Prakas Group provides brokerage
services for restaurant, nightclub and commercial properties throughout
Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties, and
Orlando.
Principals of The Prakas Group add depth to the firm’s brokerage services with
over 200 years of combined experience in the restaurant/nightclub industry as
owner/operators. Clients of The Prakas Group include Taverna Opa, Buckhead Life
Restaurant Group, Gusto’s Grill & Bar, Burton Handelsman, MDN Properties,
Rodney Mayo, Tarpon Bend Restaurants, Gotham City, Dave Manero Restaurants, and
Mama Mia’s, just to name a few. For more information, contact The Prakas Group
at (561) 368-0003, or visit the company’s website at www.prakasgroup.com.

Originally posted 2007-07-17 00:00:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Athan “Tom” Prakas, president/broker and James Layson, managing
partner/Central Florida of the Boca Raton-based Prakas Group, Inc.,
have announced the firma has been selected by Sam Sutton of Lake Buena
Vista Resort, LLC as exclusive broker to market 8,000 square feet of
restaurant space at Lake Buena Vista Resort Village & Spa.

“We are very proud to bring our years of restaurant and hospitality brokerage experience to the Lake Buena Vista Resort Village & Spa,” said Layson.  “Our Orlando office is prepared to find just the right tenant for the restaurant space to complement the Resort’s luxury atmosphere and amenities.  Shown is Larry Cohen, left, senior Vice President, Lake Buena Vista Resort Village & Spa, with James Layson, managing partner/Central Florida of The Prakas Group, Inc.

Originally posted 2007-07-18 00:00:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Originally posted 2007-09-20 00:00:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The Prakas Group real estate brokerage said Downtown Delray Holdings LLC, also known as American Royal Arts Corp., has bought a 1,923-square-foot retail showroom at 250 E. Atlantic Ave., in Delray Beach. The animation and entertainment fine art publisher also has a location on Las Olas Boulevard, in Fort Lauderdale. The seller of the Delray Beach space was Faison-Grove SquareLLC of Charlotte, N.C. The new American Royal Arts location is to open in January.

Originally posted 2007-01-17 00:00:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The Shoppes @ Nu River Landing consists of 25,334 SF of first and second floor retail, office, and restaurant space, all facing the New River. The total available space has been subdivided into five smaller spaces ranging from 2,487 SF to 8,571 SF. These spaces can be combined (maximum contiguous 14,618 SF) or further subdivided to accommodate specific needs. Open parking spaces are available as well as extensive valet parking. Additionally, 20 city-owned deep-water boat slips are available for lease.

“The central location of this site, right in the middle of the city known as ‘the boat capital of the world,’ makes this an ideal office location for maritime related business like yacht charters, brokers, surveyors, and marine insurance agents,” says Mr. Prakas. “In addition, other small businesses that could service the condominium residents would do nicely, including a law office, art gallery, and perhaps a waterside restaurant,” says Mr. Prakas.

Nu River Landing Condominiums is a 25-story, luxury residential complex consisting of 409 one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. The residential complex is completely sold out at pre-construction sale prices of $300,000-1800,000.

The Prakas Group, established in 2000, is on track to close over S300 million in sales over a six-year period. Headquartered at 705 East Palmetto Park Road in Boca Raton, FL, The Prakas Group provides brokerage services for restaurant, nightclub and commercial properties throughout Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties, and recently expanded into Orlando with an office at 7380 Sand Lake Center to cover the booming Central Florida marketplace. Principals of The Prakas Group add depth to the firm’s brokerage services with over 200 years of combined experience in the restaurant/nightclub industry as owner/operators. Clients of The Prakas Group include Taverna Opa, Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, Gusto’s Grill & Bar, Burton Handelsman, MDN Properties, Rodney Mayo, Tarpon Bend Restaurants, Gotham City, Dave Manero Restaurants, and Mama Mia’s, just to name a few. For more information, contact The Prakas Group at (561) 368-0003, or visit the company’s website at PrakasGroup.com.

Originally posted 2006-10-11 00:00:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Restaurant
brokers say a large number of eateries throughout South
Florida and the Treasure Coast have been quietly put up
for sale.

“This is the highest number of listings I’ve
had in 10 years,” said Tom Prakas, a veteran restaurant
broker with the Prakas Group in Boca Raton. Prakas
said he has about 100 South Florida restaurants listed for
sale, almost double last year’s number.

“There are more
restaurants available
(for sale) than there have been in years,” agreed Richard Lackey, a restaurant broker ‘ Prakaswith
the Lackey Cos. in Palm Beach Gardens.

Lackey and Prakas
don’t want to give up names just yet. Restaurant owners like to keep sales a secret to
maintain their hold on staff and customers. But it’s no surprise that a number
of the restaurants that are up for sale are
clustered in the Palm Beach Gardens area.

With a high failure
rate (between 80 percent and 90 percent), owning a restaurant
is never an easy venture, even in the best of times.

“But now you
have the economic hardships on top of it,” Prakas said. “I
try to be an optimist, but I don’t see any bright spots. Commodities prices (for food) are going up, and there’s a fuel
charge on all restaurant deliveries.”

With sky-high gas
prices, there’s another new problem for restaurants: finding adequate help, said Alan Koch, a restaurant broker with Score
Realty Inc. in Palm Beach Gardens.

Koch said many restaurants in northern
Palm Beach County hire workers who live in Martin or St. Lucie counties. These days, the prospect of driving a long distance to work a few hours and hope for tips doesn’t seem like such a great HeaT

Lackey and Koch noted that eateries led
by seasoned restaurateurs, such as John
Spoto or Jim Taube, are doing well despite the downturn. And restaurants at the very high end, including
well-known brands, also are OK, Prakas said.

Originally posted 2008-07-07 00:00:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Finding a good location for a restau­rant in South Florida is like an archaeological crusade for the Holy Grail. Many in search of space can spend months and even years scouting for a suitable place.

Once that is over, operating expenses includ­ing property taxes, insurance and maintenance run from $8 per square foot in a

typical strip center to as much as $25 per square foot in enter­tainment and downtown centers such as CocoWalk in Miami, Beach Place in Fort Lauderdale and City Place in West Palm Beach.

Brokers and restaurant owners predict pass-through costs will rise a whopping 30 percent in the next 18 months as new assessments hit tax rolls and commercial insurance premiums climb.

“We could literally write a deal every two days here in South Florida if we could find the sites to purchase or lease,” said Boca Raton restaurant broker Tom Prakas of the Prakas Group. “It is getting real ugly.”

Some hard-pressed restaurants inevitably will be forced to close, and lease buyouts could trim costs. But high­er-priced menus can result in fewer cus­tomers.

“The expense and heartache of mak­ing it work and how long it takes to make a profit” are growing concerns, said Oscar Rivera, commercial real estate attorney at the Coral Gables firm of Siegfried Rivera Lerner De La Torre & Sobel.

He is a lead organizer for the International Council of Shopping Center’s law conference this year, and finding suitable retail space is a frequent ICSC topic of conversation.

“When you back that into lengthy and costly permitting and retrofitting, the obstacles become almost insur­mountable,” Rivera said.

CB Richard Ellis market reports indi­cate South Florida overall retail vacancy rates have dipped from an average 8 per­cent in 2002 to 3.9 percent at the end of last year, while lease rates have surged as much as 50 percent, particularly in prime locations such as Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens and downtown Miami.

Twenty years ago a restaurant on Miami Beach’s sleepy Lincoln Road leased for as little as $20 per square foot. Today, lease rates are running from $70 to as much as $100 per square foot, said John Carter, an associate with the bro­kerage firm Cushman & Wakefield in Fort Lauderdale.

Actor Danny DeVito, restaurant developer Dave Manero and investment banker Michael Brauser recently ended a two-year hunt by paying $1.2 million, or $133 per square foot, for the former 9,000-square-foot Joia nightclub on Ocean Drive in South Beach. DeVito’s is scheduled to open early next year, with $5 million already spent.

“The location is wonderful, but the building is defunct, totally torn down,” Manero said.

The pre-opening crunch isn’t a problem just for celebrity millionaires look­ing for signature sites. Municipal fees can be an unexpected financial burden.

In 2004 restaurateur Luis Diaz and his family signed a seven-year lease for 1,500 square feet at a Lake Worth strip mall for $2,000 a month. The Diazes were confident a Mexican restaurant ″would be lucrative at that rate. ,,

They took over some space from a Cheeburger Cheeburger. But controver­sy erupted when the city passed an impact fee ordinance later that year and slapped the Diazes with a $45,000 charge for future parking.

Property owner Jimmy Asher initial­ly agreed to cover the charge but pulled back when the family fell behind on the rent and construction schedule, Luis Diaz said.

“We only had like $50,000 for the retrofit. It was all we had,” he said. “We ended up paying rent for a long time without having a certificate of occupan 

cy due to the unpaid assessment. It was horrible.”

Asher said he tried to intervene with the city to no avail.

“What I presented was that the previ­ous occupant had been a restaurant, and therefore they should grandfather the property in and exempt us from the charge,” Asher said. The previous fast-food outlet used the Diazes’ space for refrigeration and an employee lounge.

“The city said the rear space was not a restaurant and that the assessment was final,” Asher said. He paid $35,000.

Diaz said, “Our rent went up to $2,330 a month, and we had to extend the lease to pay the money back.” At long last, Juanita’s Mexican Restaurant is due to open in several -weeks.

“It’s a game of chess. Different municipalities have different rules. Orange, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties all are having more stringent impact fees, particularly when it comes to parking and water hookups,” said restaurant broker Alan Koch of Score Realty in Palm Beach Gardens.

Skyrocketing asking prices for avail­able properties, although nothing new, add to an iffy situation.

Boca Raton restaurant broker and landlord Jeff Sussman is -working with Texas-based Landry’s Restaurants to sell a io,ooo-square-foot Charley’s Crab out­let on the Intracoastal Waterway in Deerfield Beach. The one-acre property is listed at $7 million, but Sussman does­n’t see much future for -waterfront din­ing in South Florida.

“A lot of the waterfront restaurants will continue to disappear,” he said. “It is too expensive. The land value and rents have gone way, way up.”

Away from the -water, hundreds of local and national restaurants are’look­ing for locations to either expand or enter new markets.

Brenda Halloway, investor relations representative at Chuck E. Cheese par­ent CEC Entertainment, said plans have been scrapped for a io,ooo-square-foot restaurant in Boynton Beach. For the time being, she said the company is focusing on improving existing restau­rants.

Locations suitable for fast-food restaurants have become particularly scarce since most require one-acre out-parcels at shopping malls and strip cen­ters for a 3,000- to 5,ooo-square-foot, Prakas said.

The likes of Panera Bread and the Atlanta Bread Co. are often in heated competition for the same locations favored by burger chains, he said.

“We’re talking about land leases that can run anywhere from $20 to $40 per square foot, twice as much as it cost just five years ago,” Prakas said.

Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks and other outlets can be as small as 2,000 square feet, but they also covet drive-through access.

“Costs for coffee-shop types also have doubled and now fluctuate between $25 and $45 per square foot unless the location is in a power or affluent center, in which case we’re looking at s6o a square foot or more,” Prakas said.

Sports bars and grills on the prowl are in direct competition with fast-food out­lets.

Tim Petrillo, president of Restaurant People, -which owns three Tarpon Bend seafood restaurants and the River House in downtown Fort Lauderdale, is busy getting ready to open a Southcoast Kitchen grill on Atlantic Avenue in downtown Delray Beach.

Petrillo and his partners paid $2 million for the former Mancini’s restaurant. Another $2 million will be injected into the 5.5oo-square-foot building before the planned opening early next year.

“We searched up and down Atlantic for several years, no exaggeration,” Petrillo said. At an average $25 per plate, he aims to hit sales of $3.5 million to $4.5 million in the first year based on the city’s demographics and the perform­ance of the company’s other restaurants.

In Boca Raton, Sussman bought a 1.8-acre tract in 2004 for $5 million and leased it to the Darden Restaurants chain, parent of Red Lobster, Bahama Breeze and other brands. The 3O-year lease was for $15 million.

The Glades Road site, formerly a Monty’s Stone Crab, was rebuilt by Darden into an 8,500 square-foot Seasons 52 restaurant, which opened this year. The lease price works out to $59 per square foot.

“It shows just how much some are willing to pay for the prime locations that do become available,” Sussman said.

Prices in the millions are becoming standard.

“A freestanding building of 5,000 square feet with adequate parking requires anywhere from one to two acres which, in many areas throughout Palm Beach, Braward and Miami-Dade, can run for $i million to $2 million per acre,” Prakas said.

He has a $2.5 million listing on a gut­ted 6,ooo-square-foot former Sonny’s BBQrestaurant on 1.89 acres in Boynton Beach.

“We’re looking to sell either directly to a restaurant chain or a developer who in turn will lease to a restaurant ch Prakas said.

It may come as a surprise given their abundance, but ethnic restaurants are at a disadvantage compared with their homogenized American cousins. Many shopping centers allow only one Italian or one Chinese eatery.

The likes of Denny’s, Applebee’s and International House of Pancakes “have an advantage because they’re not limited to one per property,” said restaurant developer Manero. “Huge properties are being taken hostage by Domino’s Pizza or Papa John’s, locking other Italian con­cepts out of the property. It is unfath­omable and utterly absurd.”

Outparcels in so-called power malls in affluent areas are significantly more expensive.

PF Chang’s and Brio Tuscan Grill as well as American icons like Chili’s and 

TGI Friday’s lease outparcel buildings of 5,000 to 6,000 square feet for about $200,000 a year in Palm Beach Gardens, said Score Realty’s Koch.

“This is just for the land,” he said. If the landlord doesn’t provide the build­ing, construction costs and impact fees can hit $125 to $200 per square foot.

“The intricate interior design and infrastructure setup such as wiring and plumbing is a separate expense that often runs as high as $300 per square foot,” Koch said.

The financial challenge for restau­rants is compounded by stricter lease and credit requirements.

Developer Manero attempted for years to find a location for a Vic & Angelo’s Italian restaurant at PGA Commons mall in Palm Beach Gardens. Once a slot became available, he found himself embroiled in a sealed-envelope screening process with four competitors. Seven weeks later Manero’s Italian con­cept emerged as the -winner.

“It was by far the strictest process we ever had to go through,” he said. “We were asked for all types of financial and credit credentials. It was an integrity war.”

The 5,5oo-square-foot building is getting a $2 million facelift at about $360 per square foot.

“The days of quick leases and reasonable costs are definitely over,” Manero said. ″

Originally posted 2006-09-05 00:00:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The Business of the Year Awards recognize the accomplishments of
various business industries in the South Florida marketplace. Awards
are based on revenue growth, creation of jobs, commitment to employees
and community involvement. All finalists will be honored and winners
named at an awards luncheon, on April 5, 2007 at 11:30 a.m. at the
Broward County Convention Center.

What South Florida Businesses have been named as this years stars

The 2007 Business of the Year Finalists are…

Real Estate - Over $25M

• Bluegreen Corporation
• The Continental Group
• Florida East Coast Realty, Inc
• Majestic Properties
• Neo
• The Prakas Group, Inc.
• Shefaor Development 

Originally posted 2007-07-19 00:00:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter