A microbrewing company is beginning operations in an old Sears warehouse off Nicholson Drive. Tin Roof Brewing Company, owned by William McGehee and Charles Caldwell, makes 30-barrel batches using a combination of new technology and traditional techniques. It plans to introduce three beers in mid-August: Voodoo Bengal Specialty Pale Ale, Perfect Tin Amber and Second Line Light.
Chad Ortte with Donnie Jarreau Realtors arranged the lease; he brokered the $350,000 sale of the 32,000-square-foot Wyoming Street warehouse last year. Ortte says McGehee and Caldwell approached him about space to rent, and he suggested the warehouse, which is owned by developer Mike Wampold.
“The solid masonry structure was in good shape and the location might be able to take advantage of all the redevelopment that is taking place on Nicholson,” Ortte says. “There has been a lot of speculative investment along the Nicholson corridor in recent years, and now there is quite a bit of vacant land to be developed, but most sellers are unrealistic to allow for much to happen.”
Wampold had originally planned to pair the warehouse with another two acres he owns along Nicholson, but he decided to lease 10,000 square feet of the 32,000-square-foot warehouse because he likes the Tin Roof concept.
Lamar building sells
The Corporate Boulevard office building currently occupied by Lamar Advertising has been sold. River Regional Properties II, composed of John and Donna Fraiche, bought the 52,000-square-foot building for $5.4 million in a deal that closed June 25. Lamar has occupied the building since the early 1980s. The company is renovating the former Chase Bank building on Corporate Boulevard and is scheduled to move its headquarters there by the end of the year.
George Kurz, with Kurz & Hebert Real Estate, brokered the sale. Kurz says River Regional plans to operate the property as a multi-tenant office building beginning in January. One tenant, an engineering firm, is expected to occupy 32,000 square feet. Kurz says he is beginning to market the rest of the building to prospective enants.
Industriplex restaurant to reopen
The former Samuel’s Restaurant, located on Exchequer Drive in Industriplex, had long been a Baton Rouge institution. The restaurant was one of the best places for blue-collar workers to eat a large breakfast or plate lunch. It shut down earlier this year after the death of owner Sammy D’Agostino.
Mike DiVincenti purchased the 4,000-square-foot building at a sheriff sale for $420,000, or about $105 per square foot. He intends to reopen the restaurant as Chequers. The restaurant will feature breakfasts and plate lunches, and also a bakery from which customers will be able to purchase whole cakes and pies.
“The subdivision restrictions don’t allow for another restaurant in the Industriplex,” DiVincenti says, “so it is a no-brainer to reopen it.”
DiVincenti owns the restaurant with Rick Cappo in a partnership called Duejuifa, which means “two idiots” in Italian. Cappo has done well with his Suckers barbecue, which operates from a roadside stand next to Fresh Pickin’s Produce Market on Coursey Boulevard.
“We should be open in the next few months,” DiVincenti says.
Turner acquires site
Turner Industries Group, which needed to expand its north Baton Rouge storage yard, acquired an adjoining property on Mason Avenue for $150,000, or about 80 cents per square foot.
The 180,000-square-foot site has frontage on Mason and Shada avenues. Mark Hebert with Kurz and Hebert Real Estate brokered the transaction and was instrumental in having the property rezoned to M1 industrial.
“Turner had to agree to upgrade infrastructure and allow for buffers before we could get the site rezoned,” Hebert says.
