Demetrios' Restaurant owners buy South Trail building

BUYER: LDJ Holding Co. LLC (principals: Demetrios and Jennifer Antony), Sarasota

SELLER: William Kosmas

PROPERTY: 4410 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota

PRICE: $550,000

PREVIOUS PRICE: $85,000, April 1974

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Judd Ulrich Scarlett Wickman & Dean PA, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: The owners of the Demetrios' Restaurant & Pizza have purchased its 3,083-square-foot restaurant building on U.S. 41 north of Lake Shore Drive for $550,000.

The price equated to $178 per square foot.

The family-owned restaurant has been renting the building since about 1982, according to manager and business partner Demetrios Antony.

“The building just recently became available,” he says. “It was in our lease agreement that we had the first right to buy it.”

The acquisition comes at an especially interesting time for the restaurant as the owners are focused on plans to open a new restaurant on University Parkway early next year.

“We will be expanding our menu here to match that one,” says Antony. “We'll be adding items to the menu to accommodate people who are trying to eat more healthy.”

Once that restaurant is firmly established, the restaurant owners plan to make some improvements to the U.S. 41 restaurant building.

The purchase entity LDJ Holding Co. LLC mortgaged the property to Harry and Olga Nikias for $700,000.