In late July, BJ’s Restaurants Inc. opened a new BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse at the Melbourne Square Mall in Melbourne in East Central Florida. The free standing pad location is approximately 7300 square feet and seats about 225 guests. "The new Melbourne restaurant is our 20th restaurant in the state of Florida and our ninth new restaurant opened this year,” said President, CEO Greg Trojan.  “We are looking forward to our next new restaurant opening at the end of July in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Our Murfreesboro restaurant will be our first restaurant in the state of Tennessee."  California-based BJ's Restaurants Inc. currently owns and operates about 165 casual dining restaurants under the BJ's Restaurant & Brewery, BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, BJ's Pizza & Grill and BJ's Grill banners. The full service restaurants offer a broad menu including its signature deep-dish pizza as well as salads, appetizers, sandwiches, soups, pastas, entrees and desserts, including the Pizookie dessert. The company operates several microbrewery restaurants. (BJ’s Restaurants Inc. - 714/500-2400 www.bjsbrewhouse.com)........

In July, Miami-based Saglo Developments acquired the 160,000 square foot Florida & Waters Shopping Center at Florida and Waters avenues in Tampa in Central Florida. Renovated in 2008, the 46-year old open center is about 88 percent leased and includes Save-A-Lot, Citi Trends, CAC Medical Centers, Elegant Beauty Supplies, Wendy’s and Dunkin Donuts.  About 124,000 people are living within a three mile radius and more than 55,000 vehicles pass the site daily. Carlos Guzman at Saglo Developments is handling the leasing. (Saglo Developments – 777 Brickell Ave., Suite 708, Miami, Florida 33131 – Carlos Guzman (305/704-3112, carlos@saglo.com)......

Buffalo, New York residential developer Rocco Termini has reportedly agreed to purchase the Toro Tapas Bar and Faherty’s restaurants on Elmwood Ave, between Hodge Ave. and West Utica St,  in Buffalo, according to Buffalo Business First.  The recently closed properties are being acquired from restaurateur Nick Kotrides who is focusing on launching the craft distillery, Niagara Distilling Co, with partner Erie Heuser.  Termini, president of Signature Development Buffalo LLC, is reported to be in discussions with a potential tenant to take over both locations. Niagara Distilling was introduced in July with the debut of its ‘1812’ vodka. Gin, bourbon and whiskey, all under the ‘1812’ brand are expected shortly. (Signature Development Buffalo LLC – 362 Oak St., Buffalo, New York 14203 (716/861-5385, www.signaturebuff.com) ……

In late July, privately owned ECHO Realty purchased eight supermarket-anchored shopping centers throughout the Southeast region. The portfolio includes four Harris Teeter-anchored properties in North Carolina, including Beau Rivage Marketplace in Wilmington, The Shoppes at Highland Creek in Charlotte, The Village at Byers Creek in Mooresville, and a free-standing Harris Teeter on Croatan Hwy in Kill Devil Hills. The transaction also includes two Publix anchored properties in Florida, Partin Village in Kissimmee and Shoppes at Price Crossing in North Port, along with a free-standing Harris Teeter on Baltic Ave. in Virginia Beach and the Publix-anchored Riverwood Town Center in Evans, Georgia. The acquisition adds over 500,000 square feet to ECHO's shopping center inventory. "We are very excited to have the opportunity to add these high quality grocery anchored centers to our portfolio. The centers fit perfectly with ECHO's strategy of acquiring well located centers anchored by the number one or two grocer in the market," said Tom Karet, CEO of ECHO. A month ago, ECHO purchased the Purcellville Gateway, a Harris Teeter-anchored center in Loudoun County, Virginia. (ECHO Realty - 701 Alpha Dr., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15238 (412/968-1660, info@echorealty.com).....

SPoT Coffee has announced that it has signed an agreement for its first franchise café which will be located in Hamburg, New York. SPoT Coffee Hamburg will be located in the active pedestrian community, Hamburg Village. It will be owned and operated by a family from the Hamburg community. Spot Coffee Hamburg will be featuring SPoT's distinctive interior design, several seating options, a relaxed atmosphere and a patio. It will serve SPoT's complete menu including its award winning coffee, hand-crafted beverages, signature light meals and gourmet pizza. The SPoT franchise agreement provides that SPoT Coffee Hamburg will be opening for business in fourth quarter 2015. SPoT Coffee is presently involved in ongoing negotiations with several other potential franchisees from across New York State. The company's franchise strategy to offer both SPoT Coffee full café and SPoT Coffee Express concepts have proven to be a good strategy considering the equal demand by prospective franchisees that the company has been witnessing for both concepts. The company looks to accelerate awarding new franchises in New York State, with several more anticipated by the end of 2015 including the conversion of SPoT Orchard Park from a café under license to a franchise café. (SPoT Coffee - 416/368-2220 www.spotcoffee.com).......