Brightwork Real Estate buys El Adobe Mexican restaurant

BUYER: BW 41 Roselawn LLC (Brightwork Real Estate Inc.), Tampa
SELLER: Mary Keim

PROPERTY: 4023 S. Tamiami Trail and 2022 Roselawn St., Sarasota
PRICE: $2 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $63,000, June 1983 and $30,617, June 1977
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Gardner Brewer Martinez-Monfort PA, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:
Tampa-based Brightwork Real Estate purchased the 6,082-square-foot El Adobe restaurant for $2 million.

The price equated to $328 per square foot. That figure is more than the two-year average price per square foot for retail space ($138) in the Tampa Bay area, according to the CoStar Group.

The Mexican restaurant will close after operating for 40 years on South Tamiami Trail.

“Hopefully we will have plans for it soon,” Brightwork Real Estate partner Austin Simmons told the Sarasota Observer. “Sarasota is a very vibrant area and that spot right there is certainly a strong one.”

The firm is known for buying freestanding buildings and bringing in national brands, such as Starbucks, Bank of America and Wawa. Simmons says although he would like to locate a Wawa there, the site is too restrictive for the convenience store.

The purchase entity, BW 41 Roselawn LLC, mortgaged the property to USAmeriBank for $2.97 million.

— additional reporting by Alex Mahadevan, correspondent