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Look Who's Expanding: Marshalls, Aldi, Fresh Market, Amscot
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By MICHAEL SASSO | The Tampa Tribune
Published: February 3, 2009
Updated: 03:53 pm
Some bright spots punctuated the gallows humor running through a convention of shopping center executives today: A few pizza restaurants, dental practices and discount retailers are expanding aggressively in the Tampa Bay area.
Those with plans to grow took the spotlight during the gathering of shopping center owners, retail real estate brokers and retailers at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay in Rocky Point. The sponsor was the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Some companies new to Tampa Bay will be growing: The Red Elephant Pizza and Grill, Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza and Aspen Dental.
Also on the expansion list are familiar names: deep-discount grocer Aldi; specialty grocer The Fresh Market, which expects to open nine stores around the South this year; Amscot financial services; TJX Cos., which operates Marshalls and TJ Maxx; and Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, with three local stores and plans for at least five more.
Speakers tried to put the best spin on the state of an industry that by most measures is struggling as retailers such as Circuit City, Linens 'n Things, Sharper Image and Bennigan's have closed and left massive holes in strip malls.
Shopping centers were being bought and sold like houses a few years ago, but the number of transactions fell by 74 percent in 2008 across the country. In Florida, transactions fell by up to 90 percent in some areas, said Justin Greider, an associate director at Holiday Fenoglio Fowler, which arranges capital financing for such sales.
Rent at shopping centers has generally gone flat, where it had been rising by 3 percent or more per year in the past.
Still, in one good sign, occupancy rates at Florida shopping centers are still around 91 percent, down from 94 percent a few years ago but is still fairly high, Greider said.
These expansions are good news for shopping center landlords, but they come at a price. With the rising vacancies at malls, many retailers are aggressively seeking reduced rent and demanding that landlords provide them with "tenant improvement" dollars, or money to fix up their new space.
Some in the audience today were astonished when the real estate director for TJX Companies said the company signed a lease at a rental rate of $5 per square foot. While TJ Maxx and Marshalls stores tend to be in less attractive properties, that is still exceptionally low. By comparison, some prime retail spots on hot corners can command well over $30 per square foot in rent.
Here's the lowdown on the new companies coming to town:
- The Red Elephant Pizza and Grill. Based in Tallahassee, this 2-year-old business tries to marry an upscale, sophisticated restaurant with wine, specialty pizza and ciabatta bread sandwiches in a family-friendly atmosphere. It features a kids game room, but in a back area so it doesn't dominate the restaurant, said company Vice President Carl Sahlsten, a former president of OSI Restaurant Partners' Carrabba's Italian Grill brand. Red Elephant opened a store in Tampa's Carrollwood area in October and plans to open up to four restaurants in west central Florida and north Florida this year, he said.
- Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza. Despite serving pizza, Anthony's has a very different concept from The Red Elephant and isn't a direct competitor, said Ben Novello, an investor in the company who has the right to develop its restaurants in the Bay area, Orlando, Virginia and Maryland. Like Sahlsten, Novello for years worked for OSI Restaurant Partners and left the company a couple years ago after running its Outback Steakhouse brand. Anthony's is based in the Fort Lauderdale area and sells pizza heated in coal-fired ovens. The pizza has a slightly charred flavor along its edges. Anthony's is finishing its first restaurant in the Bay area in Carrollwood and should have five open in Central Florida by year end, Novello said.
- Aspen Dental. Based in Syracuse, N.Y., this dental chain had one of the most aggressive expansion plans among companies featured today. It has about 180 locations around the country and plans to open about 50 more this year, perhaps 10 of which will be in Florida, said Todd Phillips, the company's vice president of real estate and construction.
ADVERTISEMENT
By MICHAEL SASSO | The Tampa Tribune
Published: February 3, 2009
Updated: 03:53 pm
Some bright spots punctuated the gallows humor running through a convention of shopping center executives today: A few pizza restaurants, dental practices and discount retailers are expanding aggressively in the Tampa Bay area.
Those with plans to grow took the spotlight during the gathering of shopping center owners, retail real estate brokers and retailers at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay in Rocky Point. The sponsor was the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Some companies new to Tampa Bay will be growing: The Red Elephant Pizza and Grill, Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza and Aspen Dental.
Also on the expansion list are familiar names: deep-discount grocer Aldi; specialty grocer The Fresh Market, which expects to open nine stores around the South this year; Amscot financial services; TJX Cos., which operates Marshalls and TJ Maxx; and Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, with three local stores and plans for at least five more.
Speakers tried to put the best spin on the state of an industry that by most measures is struggling as retailers such as Circuit City, Linens 'n Things, Sharper Image and Bennigan's have closed and left massive holes in strip malls.
Shopping centers were being bought and sold like houses a few years ago, but the number of transactions fell by 74 percent in 2008 across the country. In Florida, transactions fell by up to 90 percent in some areas, said Justin Greider, an associate director at Holiday Fenoglio Fowler, which arranges capital financing for such sales.
Rent at shopping centers has generally gone flat, where it had been rising by 3 percent or more per year in the past.
Still, in one good sign, occupancy rates at Florida shopping centers are still around 91 percent, down from 94 percent a few years ago but is still fairly high, Greider said.
These expansions are good news for shopping center landlords, but they come at a price. With the rising vacancies at malls, many retailers are aggressively seeking reduced rent and demanding that landlords provide them with "tenant improvement" dollars, or money to fix up their new space.
Some in the audience today were astonished when the real estate director for TJX Companies said the company signed a lease at a rental rate of $5 per square foot. While TJ Maxx and Marshalls stores tend to be in less attractive properties, that is still exceptionally low. By comparison, some prime retail spots on hot corners can command well over $30 per square foot in rent.
Here's the lowdown on the new companies coming to town:
- The Red Elephant Pizza and Grill. Based in Tallahassee, this 2-year-old business tries to marry an upscale, sophisticated restaurant with wine, specialty pizza and ciabatta bread sandwiches in a family-friendly atmosphere. It features a kids game room, but in a back area so it doesn't dominate the restaurant, said company Vice President Carl Sahlsten, a former president of OSI Restaurant Partners' Carrabba's Italian Grill brand. Red Elephant opened a store in Tampa's Carrollwood area in October and plans to open up to four restaurants in west central Florida and north Florida this year, he said.
- Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza. Despite serving pizza, Anthony's has a very different concept from The Red Elephant and isn't a direct competitor, said Ben Novello, an investor in the company who has the right to develop its restaurants in the Bay area, Orlando, Virginia and Maryland. Like Sahlsten, Novello for years worked for OSI Restaurant Partners and left the company a couple years ago after running its Outback Steakhouse brand. Anthony's is based in the Fort Lauderdale area and sells pizza heated in coal-fired ovens. The pizza has a slightly charred flavor along its edges. Anthony's is finishing its first restaurant in the Bay area in Carrollwood and should have five open in Central Florida by year end, Novello said.
- Aspen Dental. Based in Syracuse, N.Y., this dental chain had one of the most aggressive expansion plans among companies featured today. It has about 180 locations around the country and plans to open about 50 more this year, perhaps 10 of which will be in Florida, said Todd Phillips, the company's vice president of real estate and construction.
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