In 2021, Chick-fil-A’s freestanding restaurants, open and operated at least a full calendar year, averaged $8.142 million per store. While a towering figure, it’s not one that would catch many off-guard. Chick-fil-A packed its drive-thrus across the U.S. If there… Read More
CIRE Weekly
Gas Prices Weakening C-Store Traffic
High gas prices are taking their toll on sales at convenience stores. Fifty-nine percent of convenience retailers say customer traffic has decreased in stores over the past three months. C-stores sell an estimated 80 percent of fuel purchased in the United… Read More
Recession Coming for Restaurants?
A good deal of ground-level sentiment hints at a resilient restaurant consumer. But patterns are changing. Foodservices and drinking places earned $84.98 billion in May. It represented a 0.7 percent increase from April and perhaps a sign guests are starting to adjust… Read More
Investors Race to Retail Deals
Private investors are flocking to the retail space and now account of 53% of all deals greater than $50 million, with capital particularly focused on high-quality assets. Last year, private capital accounted for 45.5% of total market share, with $6.7… Read More
Impact of Rate Hikes on CRE
Economists and industry executives weigh in on the Fed’s decision to raise the benchmark rate by 75 basis points. The Federal Reserve made its boldest move yet yesterday to tamp down inflation with a 0.75 percentage-point rate increase, the largest… Read More
Casual Dining Restaurants Stage Comeback
The casual-dining segment’s sales were devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but they surged back in 2021, with most big brands registering double-digit gains through a year that was buffeted by virus surges. While restoring seating capacity to dining… Read More
Tectonic Shifts in Restaurant Sales Rankings
There is always a little drama in the elite circle of top 10 restaurant chains ranked by sales, and 2021 was no different. What was meant to be the pandemic recovery year told a story about which restaurant chain was… Read More
Investors See Opportunity Despite Inflation and Uncertainty
As anyone who converted their dining room into a makeshift office or made the leap from in-store to online grocery shopping can tell you, the last few years have had a pretty profound effect on the ways people use space…. Read More
Ground Leases as a Financing Tool
Commercial real estate has always involved an awkward marriage of sorts. Fundamentally, building owners — be they retailers, office landlords, multifamily operators — make their money by conceptualizing, positioning, repositioning and otherwise running their properties to attract and retain tenants…. Read More
REIT and Private Real Estate Performance
Many investors seeking the benefits of portfolio diversification to reduce volatility, along with competitive, continuing total returns, are talking with their advisors about adding commercial real estate to their retirement portfolios. In some cases, they are seeking these benefits of… Read More