Recent work for a franchisee of WingStop (a Top-50 national chain in the quick-serve restaurant industry) proves that local broker knowledge can be indispensable, even when the chain itself has strict guidelines.

The issue was demographics, where the head office in Dallas instructs its operators to pursue only certain neighborhoods with an “ideal” mix of incomes, density and ethnicity.

When following the guidelines, one unit here in northeast Ohio turned in a less than stellar performance, even though it hit every requirement of a typical WingStop.

In acquiring the next site, we were able to convince the franchisor to get behind a different sort of ethnic and income mix, that provided steady traffic at all hours of the day (especially from 6:00 pm to midnight, when most wings and fries are sold) due to road patterns, other quick-serve food players in the vicinity, and demand generators like hotels or a cinema.  Because the name WingStop is not generally known here yet and customers may think it’s a mom-and-pop (they recently exceeded 1,000 stores), the sales started slowly but have been steadily building, to the point where year two performance was 30% over year one and continues to grow.

Thanks to our Senior Vice President, Steve Altemare, Wisconsin’s well-known Culver’s is headed to Northeast Ohio soon. The chain, represented exclusively by Altemare in Northeast Ohio for all of its transactions, features buttery cheeseburgers and smooth custard with enough variety to make dairy lovers swoon. But there’s more to this family-owned business than just cheese curds and fries. Click "Continue Reading" to learn 10 interesting facts about Culver's that will have you jonesing for your very own ButterBurger.

Golden Gate Shopping Center, located on Mayfield Road just off of Interstate 271 in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, will be undergoing its first renovation in more than 20 years.

Hornig Capital Partners owns the 371,748 SF retail center on Cleveland’s east side, which boasts PetSmart, Jo-Ann Fabric, Fresh Thyme Farmers Market, World Market, K&G Fashion Superstore, and Marshalls, among its major anchors. The company is investing $4M in capital for an improvement plan that includes remodeling the center’s façade and major upgrades to its landscaping.

Jim Becker, Senior Executive/Director, and Rob Yaskanich, Senior Director represent the landlord as leasing brokers for Golden Gate Shopping Center.

A shopping center located at the northeast corner of Whipple Avenue and Everhard Road in Canton, Ohio, has come a long way since DeVille Developments hired Goodman Real Estate Services Group to market a shopping-center-turned-office-building into the beautifully redesigned, highly competitive retail destination it is today. The conversion of this former Hills Department Store into a call center 15 years ago practically killed this 40,000-vehicle-per-day  intersection. Now, retailers and restaurants are again clamoring to locate there.

With 16 years of success in the Pacific Northwest under their belt, Portland, Oregon-based Bishops Cuts / Color has embarked on an extensive national expansion program that now includes Columbus, Ohio.

Bishops, a co-ed hair salon who describes themselves as offering “on-demand, on-trend hair care at affordable prices with a street style aesthetic” will be opening its first location in the Midwest in Clintonville, a trendy neighborhood in the heart of Columbus just north of The Ohio State University’s campus.

They join the recently-opened second location of Columbus staple Hot Chicken Takeover in a brand new multi-tenant retail center at the southwest corner of High Street and Deland Avenue. Bishops will occupy a 1,330 SF space with 10 retro-style barber chairs. Their grand opening will be on Saturday August 5, 2017.

Bishops Cuts / Color currently has 14 locations in Greater Portland, Oregon, 3 in Seattle, Washington, and one in Tempe, Arizona. The company will also open a location in San Diego, California this September.

Steven Dorsky, Senior Executive/Director of our Columbus office, represents the Columbus franchisee for Bishops Cuts / Color.