Restaurants Hungry for Expansions in South Florida

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—Restaurants are once again expanding across South Florida. One of the latest is VooDoo BBQ& Grill.

The New Orleans-style barbecue restaurant just inked a 10-year lease for a new location at Hollywood Hills Plaza in Hollywood, FL. Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) is VooDoo BBQ's exclusive commercial real estate broker.

Florida leads the nation in the number of eating and drinking establishments that opened in 2012, as unemployment numbers began to drop and consumer spending increased. The state saw 1,751 new restaurants and bars open over the course of last year, according to a report from the National Restaurant Association.

“We are seeing a strong demand for restaurant space in South Florida, especially in Broward, which has one of the region's lowest unemployment rates,” says Scott Sheron, vice president of Retail Brokerage for JLL South Florida. Sheron inked the VooDoo BBQ lease.

The success restaurant concepts are currently enjoying is in part fueled by the Millennial generation, according to an Urban Land Institute survey released earlier this year. The survey shows that 46% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 35 eat out at least weekly with friends or family and one-quarter do so several times a week.

VooDoo BBQ entered the South Florida market last year and continues to expand in the region. The restaurant chain's newest location is coming to a 3,509-square-foot space at the Hollywood Hills Plaza, its third restaurant opening in Broward. VooDoo, also has locations in The Palms at Town & Country in Kendall. The chain has development rights to open 26 locations across the state.

“Wherever we open a restaurant in South Florida, we surpass the volume of sales we want right away, which is a testament to the quality of our food and our service,” says VooDoo owner Jack Flechner. “Broward is a very fertile ground for us. Our success in this market is what drives our continued expansion.”

The new Broward location, just west of Interstate 95 on Hollywood Boulevard and next to a Starbucks, is set to open in late November. Meanwhile, Sheron is working to find more South Florida locations in areas with high daytime lunch population and close proximity to other high volume restaurants like Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Pei Wei Asian Diner, and Anthony's Coal Fire Pizza.

Of course, VooDoo is not alone expanding in South Florida. Sheron is also exclusively representing Dallas-based Twin Peaks, a sports bar and grill chain looking to make South Florida its new home. Twin Peaks specializes in comfort food and ice cold 29 degree beer.  Says Sheron, “Twin Peaks is actively scouting for the right location to enter this market, a process that takes time as the demand is very high right now for class A locations.”