Gecko's Grill & Pub buys its Cattlemen location

BUYER: 351 Cattlemen LLC (manager: Michael Quillen and Michael Gowan), Sarasota
SELLER: Sarasota Restaurant Corp.
PROPERTY: 351 N. Cattlemen Road, Sarasota
PRICE: $1.8 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.5 million, March 2005
LAW FIRM ON DEED: William A. Dooley PA, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:
The owners of Gecko's Grill & Pub restaurants, Mike Gowan and Mike Quillen, purchased a 10,115-square-foot restaurant building for $1.8 million.

The price equated to $178 per square foot. That figure is greater than the two-year average price per square foot for retail space ($138) in the Tampa Bay area, according to the CoStar Group.

The former R J Gator's and more recently Trader Vic's restaurant, was renovated and reopened as a Gecko's in July. Quillen says the owners decided to exercise an option to buy the property after the early success of the restaurant.

“That's easily our biggest restaurant,” he says. “It can seat 300 people. It's also got a big deck on the water. We are getting calls for big events with 50 to 100, which we couldn't think of accommodating at our other locations. There is just a huge amount of value there.”

Along with the size of the property, the bigger draw was its location, he says, near Nathan Benderson Park and on Cattlemen Road, which ties into The Mall at University Town Center.

The purchase also included some of the existing restaurant equipment, silverware and glassware.

Gecko's Grill & Pub currently has six locations and more than 400 employees.

The purchase entity, 351 Cattlemen LLC, mortgaged the property to Cadence Bank NA for two loans totaling $2.03 million.