CHICAGO—Lee & Associates of Illinois, LLC has just finished representing the Red Robin restaurant chain in four new leases for over 20,000-square-feet of space located across Illinois. Rick Scardino, the director of Lee's retail brokerage, says the market still looks good for tenants. “I think tenants more often than not have a good position at the table,” although having a client like Red Robin certainly helps. “None of these deals are easy to make, but they are a sought-after tenant.” This set of agreements took between one and four years to finish up, he adds, although all four sites will open this year.

The longest and most complex negotiation was for a 5,710-square-foot space located in the Harlem and Irving Plaza in suburban Norridge. The owners have begun making the first major additions to the mall, first built in the 1950's, and Red Robin will occupy one of the new spaces. The chain also signed a lease for a 5,901-square-foot space in the Oakbrook Center Mall in Oak Brook. Fred Murray of Harlem Irving Companies represented building ownership in the Norridge transaction and Randy Guse, formerly of General Growth Properties, represented the owners in the Oak Brook lease.

Scardino also represented Red Robin in two new leases downstate. The first is a 4,001-square-foot building located at W. Washington Street and Altorfer Lane in East Peoria and the second is a 5,735-square-foot building located at 2881 S. Veterans Parkway in Springfield. Kathleen Cullinan of Cullinan Properties represented ownership in the East Peoria transaction and Mike Liyeos of Quattro Development represented the owners in Springfield.

“We're continuing to see strong demand in the best Chicago metro markets with vacancy dwindling and more tenants chasing less existing options,” says Scardino. However, peripheral markets remain a lot looser. “There's plenty of options out there,” he adds, in outlying towns such as Plainfield, Mokena, and Frankfort, since most businesses still prefer to locate in core areas. “Yes, housing is starting to come back, but it's going to take awhile for these markets to see the kind of growth we enjoyed a few years ago.”

Instant Insights /

Red Robin Inks Deals Across Illinois

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