RARE Hospitality demolishing Los Cabos for new LongHorn Steakhouse

BUYER: Rare Hospitality Management Inc. (principals: William White, Joseph Kern and Colleen Hunter), Orlando
SELLER: PDG Electric LLP
PROPERTY: 4502 W. 14th St., Bradenton
PRICE: $1.36 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $2 million, January 2006
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Grimes Goebel Grimes Hawkins Gladfelter & Galvano PL, Bradenton

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: RARE Hospitality Management purchased the 6,526-square-foot Los Cabos Mexican Restaurant building for $1.36 million.

The price equated to $207 per square foot or $464,582 per acre. That figure is lower than the two-year average price per acre for retail land ($893,571) in the Tampa Bay area, according to the CoStar Group.

The Darden Restaurant Inc. company purchased the 2.92-acre property to demolish the Mexican restaurant and build a LongHorn Steakhouse. The 6,450-square-foot, 240-guest restaurant will be a new prototype building for the restaurant group. The new location is scheduled to open in early 2014.

Crest Hill, Ill.-based Belisle Construction Inc. will be the general contractor for the project and Cincinnati's FRCH Design Worldwide is the architect.

In an email to the Business Observer, Erica Jaeger, media and communications manager for LongHorn Steakhouse wrote: “We identified the Bradenton area as a great place with long-term growth potential. Bradenton is appealing in that it contains a stable resident population, but also attracts seasonal residents and tourists who are visiting the beaches. The site is surrounded by an enclosed mall and big-box retailers.”

Each LongHorn Steakhouse typically employs 80 to 100 people.

There are currently more than 430 LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants in 38 states. By the time the Bradenton location opens, more than 450 LongHorn restaurants will be in operation.