Blogs

Q: There has been some talk of an Outback restaurant in our area. What is happening with their plans?

- Charles Musser, East Naples

A: The search for the perfect location continues, mate.

After signing a letter of intent to locate an Outback Steakhouse in the new Sugden Park Plaza in East Naples, a site selection committee for Tampa-based OSI Restaurant Partners LLC changed its mind and formally declined the move Dec. 14.

For Colliers Arnold commercial property specialist Charlene Greenblatt, who has been lining up tenants for the new plaza, the news was a pretty harsh blow.

“We thought for sure we were going to get that Outback deal. We were definitely disappointed when it didn’t go through,” Greenblatt said. “We are still looking for an anchor restaurant somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000 to 7,000 square feet.”

The restaurant space, which includes covered outdoor seating, is the end cap of the plaza, still under construction on U.S. 41 East near the Lakewood Boulevard intersection.

“There still are plenty of tenants that want to be in this market,” she said. “We will have one by the midpoint of January. We have a lot of great restaurants we are talking to. We just don’t have the one yet.”

Greenblatt said Outback declined the Sugden Park Plaza offer because it wants to open a restaurant closer to the intersection of U.S. 41 East and Collier Boulevard or the intersection of Davis and Collier boulevards.

JoAnn Ferlita, a commercial real estate specialist for Tampa-based Property Pro, has been working on finding a new Outback location in that area down under East Naples for three years. A prime location would be in the Shops at Eagle Creek, across the street from Carrabba’s Italian Grill, another OSI chain, but Ferlita said the price isn’t right.

“Property owners are asking $150,000 to $195,000 a year for an out-parcel there. It’s very expensive,” she said. “We just haven’t been able to get something that works for Outback. We’d love to do it.”

- Tim Aten