Glimcher, El Paso Grill Plan $50M Expansion

SCOTTSDALE, AZ-A real estate developer and restaurateur have come together to open up to five restaurants in a $50-million expansion effort. By the end of this year, new locations will be open in Chandler, Flagstaff and Yuma.

El Paso Grill & Bar-B-Que and Glimcher Ventures Southwest will set down roots in the 100,000-sf Shoppes at Chandler Heights, situated at Arizona Avenue and Chandler Heights Boulevard. Restaurants also will open in the 50,000-sf Woodlands Village at the crossroads of Interstate 17, US Hwy. 40 and Woodlands Boulevard in Flagstaff. The Yuma location has yet to be determined. Other cities targeted for new stories are Roseville, CA near Sacramento and Farmington, NM. The chain currently has nine corporate-owned restaurants in Mesa, Ahwatukee, Surprise, Goodyear, Sierra Vista and Tucson.

David Glimcher, president with locally based Glimcher Ventures, tells GlobeSt.com the restaurants will be freestanding, measuring about 5,500 sf, including an outdoor patio. “We really have a strong affinity to being in entertainment zones with movie theaters, bowling concepts and other groups of restaurants,” he says.

Glimcher will design the restaurants and handle construction management. General contracting duties will be outsourced. Some restaurants, but not all will end up in Glimcher Ventures developments.

Glimcher says he joined forces with El Paso Grill & Bar-B-Que because of the restaurant’s great product and efficient management team. “We saw a significant opportunity to roll them out through the Southwest initially,” he says. “But they’re also developing another concept that could have even greater legs than the main one.” He says more specific plans about the new concept will be unveiled sometime in the second quarter.