Entertainment Venue Debuts in Early August

ALBUQUERQUE-A Texas-based entertainment group is on track for an early August opening of a 55,000-sf flagship site in the 400,000-sf Montgomery Plaza. The launch is the first of four locations that will be rolling out in the coming year in the Southwest.

IT'Z LP is comprised of executives with more than 30 years in the entertainment business. The executives, using the North Texas city of Plano as their operations point, zeroed in on Montgomery Plaza at 5001 Montgomery Blvd. to launch the concept because "they were familiar with the property and strong sales of the existing tenants," James Dobbie, COO for the local property owner, Goodman Realty Group, explains to GlobeSt.com. The open-air center, which has been re-tenanted in recent years, is boasting sales of $225 per sf.

The 10-year lease is lighting a building that went dark five years ago in the plaza's entertainment section. Dobbie says other retailers eyed the former Block Party building, but the owner held out for an entertainment anchor. "It's going to add a lot to the center," he says. "Sometimes as a landlord, I'm scared to death of a first location, but this instance is different due to the depth of experience that IT'Z has behind it. We're very confident in IT'Z success." The deal pushed Montgomery Plaza to 99% occupancy, capping a four-year repositioning and $10-million renovation of a 32-year-old power center.

IT'Z president and CEO is Michael Moore was brought on board by the investment group in January 2005 to launch an Italian buffet concept with an entertainment component. "The principal owners recognized that the entertainment industry was missing a good dining experience," explains Todd Tomlin, IT'Z marketing director. "You're definitely coming to IT'Z to eat. That's the primary reason to come to our building."

IT'Z has divvied its space needs into seating for 800 customers in four themed rooms, 150-game arcade, indoor carnival rides, bowling lanes and up to 10 party rooms. Sporting an assortment of theater screens and plasma TVs, the dining room designs are set up as a drive-in theater, Hollywood lounge with jazz music, Sports Zone and Animation Station with cartoons as part of the fare. Each IT'Z eatery will employ 250 to 300 part- and full-time workers.

Though Albuquerque's the test spot, the investment group's recently bought a vacant Home Depot at the intersection of Texas 249 and Mills Drive near Houston's Willowbrook Mall for its first Texas location. The owners have leased 30,000 sf of the 70,000-sf store to Dallas-based Movie Tavern and will let IT'Z open in spring 2007 in the balance, according to Tomlin. Also opening in 2007 will be a 56,000-sf, ground-up IT'Z in the First & Main Town Center in Colorado Springs and two undetermined locations in Dallas/Fort Worth.

Tomlin says the five-year plan calls for five store openings per year after the first quartet get ups and running. The site selection team also is looking for space, and in some cases, already negotiating leases for locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Oklahoma, targeting metros with a 500,000 population in a 10-mile trade area.