It's the end of the year and that means tough decisions for restaurant owners and operators. Atlanta-based brokerage The Shumacher Group late Saturday listed four restaurants for sale, including one that opened less than 90 days ago!
The latest listings being marketed by Josovitz and The Shumacher Group are:
Bon Ton and The Waiting Room - 674 Myrtle Street in Midtown
RWBY - 905 Juniper Street in Midtown
BUTACO - 1245 Glenwood Avenue at Southern Feedstore in East Atlanta Village (EAV)
TKO (The Korean One) - 1245 Glenwood Avenue at Southern Feedstore in East Atlanta Village (EAV)
The listings, all of which indicate the respective restaurants are "open and operating," further invite prospective buyers to "keep or convert" the current concepts. Further, there is no mention of any of the restaurants closing, but given the sales offerings, there is definitely reason to surmise closures could happen sooner rather than later.
Bon Ton, the most established of the concepts, first opened in early 2017 and is owned by Darren Carr and Eric Simpkins of Big Citizen [Restaurant Group]. The Cajun-Vietnamese restaurant and cocktail bar occupies a two-level 3,500 square foot space previously occupied by Top Flr, another Carr concept. Across both levels, including The Waiting Room, a second floor cocktail bar, the space provides seating for 124. The listing indicates that "all-in" monthly rent is $10,500 with term remaining and at least one option to renew. The restaurant is described as being "fully up to code" with a "great staff in place."
Bon Ton is priced at $595,000 with books and records not included in the sale.
RWBY, pronounced "Ruby," opened in mid-October and is easily the newest restaurant to be marketed for sale. Like Bon Ton and The Waiting Room, RWBY was a concept from Big Citizen with the addition of a third partner, Jason Cott, of Alchemy Consulting, a restaurant and bar consulting firm. RWBY replaced The Lawrence, which was another Big Citizen concept, and one that enjoyed a ten year run before closing this past January. Murad Ghashim, a veteran of Ecco, Zakia, and The White Bull, helmed the kitchen and crafted the menu at RWBY which is described in the sales listing as a "modern American restaurant with a Mediterranean accent." Including its bar, dining room, and patio, the 2,600 square foot restaurant provides seating for 110. The listing indicates the "all in" monthly rent is $11,000 with several years remaining on its current lease and a 10 year option to renew. The restaurant is described as being "fully up to code" with a "great staff in place."
Carr and partners previously closed Wonderkid at Atlanta Dairies in November 2022 after three years in business. The Sound Table, another Carr concept, which had held court on Edgewood Avenue since 2010, closed during the early months of the pandemic in 2020 and announced its permanent closure in October of that year.
RWBY is priced at $550,000 with books and records not included in the sale.
TKO occupies an approximately 400 square foot food stall in Southern Feedstore and opened this past December. The restaurant, from Lino Yi, Carl Van Tyle Gilbert, and Aaron Philips, started as a pop-up before going brick and mortar at the food hall in EAV. According to the sales listing, the restaurant is currently signed to a five year lease with an option to renew for an additional five years. A reported $300,000 was spent opening the "fully equipped" restaurant where the listing indicates the seller owns all FF&E. According to the sales listing, TKO's monthly "all-in" rent is $8,950.
TKO, referred to as an "Explosive Growth Concept," is priced at $250,000
BUTACO, also from Chef Aaron Philips, opened in June in place of Gyro Gyro. Like TKO, it's roughly 400 square feet, but with monthly "all-in" rent of an eye-popping $9,300 with several years remaining on the existing lease. The restaurant is listed as "fully equipped," but indicates the landlord owns all FF&E (furniture fixtures & equipment).
BUTACO is priced at $99,000 to "take over business."
Have you been to any of the restaurants that are now for sale? Do you think Atlanta has too many restaurants? What type of cuisine to you think Atlanta is lacking?
Please share your thoughts below
5 comments:
Those rents are outrageous. Can you imagine what the gross sales have to be each day, to yield enough profit to just cover the rent. With raw food costs skyrocketing this year, I can imagine the owners must sit up nights worrying how to pay the bills. And prices they have to charge customers must be out of sight. Something is going to give and bad times are ahead.
"with books and records not included in the sale."
...
fire sale minus the implications of "sale". []_ . [] . []_
It just amazes me what some people ask for a failing restaurant / bar. Hopefully nobody is foolish enough to pay the asking price for the listings here today.
Given that books and records are not included, this is not a business sale. It's an asset fire sale. And all significantly overpriced. Clearly, these location rents are too high. Experienced restaurateurs are throwing in the towel but yet still trying to sell their restaurant as if it's a viable business. The current build out, concept, menu, price point etc is obviously not capturing a sustainable revenue. Otherwise they would share the records OR not sell because they have a profitable going concern. Just my opinion.
You are absolutely correct. Only foolish people would buy these listings. Just wait until they close and lease it from the landlord, and you’ll get free range hood and grease traps installed. Buy your own equipments and furnitures, which will be significantly cheaper than these listings
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