Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/62026
RET AILING TODA Y For Buca di Beppo, a package deal By Maura Ammenheuser BUCA DI BEPPO IS KNOWN FOR piling up generous servings of Italian food onto family-size platters. Now it may become known for serving up big real estate deals too. General Growth Properties and Buca agreed in Feb- ruary to open Buca restaurants at General Growth malls this summer. The 10-restaurant deal is part of Gen- eral Growth's strategy to streamline leasing, and it is also the firm's largest such agreement with any restaurant company yet, says Alan Barocas, Gen- eral Growth's head of leasing. "We're trying to find ways to do deals in a very efficient manner," Barocas said. "When we package them together, we are looking at things in the aggregate." In its largest deal with a specific landlord, Buca di Beppo agreed to open restaurants at 10 General Growth Properties–owned malls this summer. FINANCED BY: Buca plans to open restaurants at Augusta (Ga.) Mall; Florence (Ky.) Mall; Fox River Mall, Appleton, Wis.; Governor's Square Mall, Tal- lahassee, Fla.; Market Place Shopping Center, Champaign, Ill.; Oakwood Center, Gretna, La.; Red Cliffs Mall, St. George, Utah; The Shoppes at River Crossing, Macon, Ga.; Town East Mall, Mesquite, Texas; and White Marsh Mall, Baltimore. These enclosed malls will place the units, measuring between 4,500 and 7,000 square feet, at or near a major en- trance rather than in a freestanding restaurant row. Buca did not respond to requests for an interview, but Baro- cas says the deal helps the chain by pro- viding a formulaic plan for opening many restaurants quickly. Buca currently operates about 90 restaurants across the country, plus 46 SCT / MAY 2012